PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New tiny prehistoric fish species unlocks origins of catfish and carp

Western collected micro-CT scans show saltwater species transitioned to freshwater

2025-10-02
(Press-News.org) The fossil of a tiny fish found in southwestern Alberta provides new insight into the origin and evolution of otophysans, the supergroup of fish that includes catfish, carp and tetras, which today account for two-thirds of all freshwater species.

The specimen, studied by researchers at Western University, the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology and international collaborators, is a skeleton of a fish about 4 cm long from the Late Cretaceous period (the age of the iconic Tyrannosaurus Rex, about 100.5 million to 66 million years ago.) A new kind of fish entirely, it is now named Acronichthys maccognoi.

A study detailing the discovery was published today in the high impact journal, Science. 

“The reason Acronichthys is so exciting is that it fills a gap in our record of the otophysans supergroup. It is the oldest North America member of the group and provides incredible data to help document the origin and early evolution of so many freshwater fish living today,” said Neil Banerjee, Earth sciences professor and author on the study.

Banerjee collaborated with an international team including Lisa Van Loon, adjunct Earth sciences professor at Western, Don Brinkman, curator emeritus at the Royal Tyrell Museum, Juan Liu from the University of California, Berkeley and Alison Murray from the University of Alberta.       

Otophysans are distinctive in the way the first four vertebrae are modified to transmit vibrations to the ear from the swim bladder (a gas-filled internal organ that allows fish to maintain their position in the water without expending significant energy), basically functioning as a human ear. This is easily spotted in the skeleton of the found fossil of Acronichthys by the naked eye. Van Loon, using synchrotron beamlines at both the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and the Advanced Photon Source in Lemont, Illinois, captured a more sophisticated, detailed look with computed tomography (micro-CT) scans.

Micro-CT scans are non-destructive (critical when studying prehistoric fossils), high-resolution X-ray images that create 3D virtual models of objects by taking a series of 2D X-ray projections as an object, in this case the Acronichthys, rotates.

“Many of the fossil specimens collected by the Royal Tyrrell Museum are incredibly fragile, and some are impossible to extract from the rock itself, so micro-CT scans provide not only the best method for acquiring detailed images of what’s inside, they’re also the safest way to avoid destroying the fossil all together,” said Van Loon.    

One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish

While the discovery of Acronichthys introduces a new species to paleontological records, it also provides critical data to trace the origins of otophysans, as the supergroup is understood to have started as a marine (saltwater) species before transitioning to a freshwater species. The discovery suggests the transition from marine to freshwater species happened at least twice during otophysans’ evolution.

The study estimated a new divergence time for otophysans from marine to freshwater species at around 154 million years ago (the Late Jurassic period) – after Pangea, the supercontinent, began to break apart about 200 million years ago. The researchers are left trying to understand how the tiny Acronichthys moved from continent to continent (as its freshwater ancestors now live on every continent except Antarctica) if they couldn’t swim across saltwater oceans.

“Dinosaurs are pretty exciting, so a lot of time and effort has been focused on them so we know a lot about what they were like, but we’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to understanding the diversity of prehistoric freshwater fish,” said Brinkman. “There’s still so much we don’t know, and a fossil site right here in Canada is giving us the key to understanding the origins of groups that now dominate rivers and lakes around the world.”

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Plant microbiota: War and peace under the surface

2025-10-02
When we talk about microbiota, we usually think of the one inhabiting our gut. But there is another, less known and equally vital: the plant microbiota. In an article featured on the cover of Science (October 2, 2025), Professor Niko Geldner and his team at the University of Lausanne (Unil) unveil the subtle alliances and rivalries that unfold between bacteria and roots, hidden beneath the soil. Roots and microbes The plant microbiota, or “phytobiome,” brings together communities of bacterial and fungal microorganisms that can be partners, allies—and sometimes enemies. The part most closely associated with roots is called the “rhizospheric” ...

Fossilized ear bones rewrite the history of freshwater fish

2025-10-02
When saltwater fish long ago evolved to live in fresh water, many of them also evolved a more sophisticated hearing system, including middle ear bones similar to those in humans. Two-thirds of all freshwater fish today — including more than 10,000 species, from catfish to popular aquarium fish like tetras and zebrafish — have this middle ear system, called the Weberian apparatus, which allows them to hear sounds at much higher frequencies than most ocean fish can, with a range close to that of humans. University of California, Berkeley paleontologist Juan Liu has now used the structure of this Weberian apparatus in a newly discovered ...

Detection of phosphine in a brown dwarf atmosphere raises more questions

2025-10-02
Phosphorus is one of six key elements necessary for life on Earth. When combined with hydrogen, phosphorus forms the molecule phosphine (PH3), an explosive, highly toxic gas. Found in the atmospheres of the gas giant planets Jupiter and Saturn, phosphine has long been recognized as a possible biosignature for anaerobic life, as there are few natural sources of this gas in the atmospheres of terrestrial planets. On Earth, phosphine is a byproduct of decaying organic swamp matter. Now a team of researchers, led by University of California San Diego Professor of Astronomy and Astrophysics ...

USF study: Ancient plankton hint at steadier future for ocean life

2025-10-02
Key takeaways: By analyzing rare nitrogen isotopes in 5-million-year-old plankton fossils, researchers reconstructed past Pacific Ocean conditions to better forecast the future. Even during the warmer Pliocene Epoch, nutrient-rich upwelling in the tropical Pacific remained stable, sustaining marine productivity. The findings challenge predictions of a fisheries collapse. TAMPA, Fla. (Oct. 1, 2025) – A team of scientists has uncovered a rare isotope in microscopic fossils, offering fresh evidence that ocean ...

MIT researchers find a simple formula could guide the design of faster-charging, longer-lasting batteries

2025-10-02
CAMBIRDGE, MA -- At the heart of all lithium-ion batteries is a simple reaction: Lithium ions dissolved in an electrolyte solution “intercalate” or insert themselves into a solid electrode during battery discharge. When they de-intercalate and return to the electrolyte, the battery charges. This process happens thousands of times throughout the life of a battery. The amount of power that the battery can generate, and how quickly it can charge, depend on how fast this reaction happens. However, little is known about the exact mechanism of this reaction, or ...

Towards efficient room-temperature fluorine recovery from fluoropolymers

2025-10-02
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a synthetic fluorine-based polymer with a wide range of applications, including non-stick cookware production and electrical and optical fiber cable coating, owing to its high durability, thermal stability, and low friction. Ironically, its durability also presents an environmental challenge for its disposal. PTFE is mainly disposed of via incineration, landfilling, and defluorination. However, incineration requires high energy and involves the release of hydrogen fluoride, which is highly corrosive. Meanwhile, landfilling leads to an environmental burden of undegraded PTFE. By contrast, defluorination, in ...

Mapping RNA-protein 'chats' could uncover new treatments for cancer and brain disease

2025-10-02
Bioengineers at the University of California San Diego have developed a powerful new technology that can map the entire network of RNA-protein interactions inside human cells — an achievement that could offer new strategies for treating diseases ranging from cancer to Alzheimer’s. RNA-protein interactions regulate many essential processes in cells, from turning genes on and off to responding to stress. But until now, scientists could only capture small subsets of these interactions, leaving much of the cellular “conversation” hidden. “This technology is like a wiring map of the cell’s conversations,” said ...

The hidden burden of solitude: How social withdrawal influences the adolescent brain

2025-10-02
Adolescence is a period of social reorientation: a shift from a world centered on parents and family to one shaped by peers, schools, and broader networks. This expansion is critical for healthy development, but it also heightens susceptibility to social stressors. When those stressors lead young people to withdraw — choosing solitude more often than connection — the brain itself may be altered. Using brain imaging and behavioral data, Caterina Stamoulis, PhD, and her team in the Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital have found that adolescents who are ...

Kidney disease study reveals unexpected marker

2025-10-02
When University of Texas at Arlington researcher Paul J. Fadel and his colleagues launched a study on vascular health in people with chronic kidney disease, they expected to better understand a long-standing belief. For years, scientists have pointed to a blood marker called ADMA—asymmetric dimethylarginine—as a warning sign for vascular problems. But the team’s findings, recently published in the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology, told a different story. Instead, another blood marker, SDMA—symmetric dimethylarginine—long considered mostly inactive, showed a stronger connection to vascular health than ADMA. “The ...

AI wrote nearly a quarter of corporate press releases in 2024

2025-10-02
Since 2022, American companies, consumers, and even the United Nations have used large language models—artificial intelligence (AI) systems such as ChatGPT that are trained to create text that reads like human-generated writing. In a study publishing October 2 in the Cell Press journal Patterns, researchers reveal that AI is used in an average of 17% of analyzed corporate and governmental written content, from job posts to press releases, and this rate will likely continue to increase.   “This is the first comprehensive review of the use of AI-assisted ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Rice membrane extracts lithium from brines with greater speed, less waste

Exercise lowers disease risk. This researcher wants to understand how

Hurricane evacuation patterns differ based on where the storm hits

Stem Cell Reports welcomes new members to its Editorial Board

Researchers develop molecular qubits that communicate at telecom frequencies

Mayo Clinic awarded up to $40 million by ARPA-H for pioneering air safety research

People with Down syndrome have early neuroinflammation

CNIO researchers create the “human repairome”, a catalogue of DNA “scars” that will help define personalized cancer treatments

Strengthening biosecurity screening for genes that encode proteins of concern

Global wildfire disasters are growing in frequency and cost

Wildfire management: Reactive response and recovery, or proactive mitigation and prevention

Phosphine detected in the atmosphere of a low-temperature brown dwarf

Scientists develop rapid and scalable platform for in planta directed evolution

New tiny prehistoric fish species unlocks origins of catfish and carp

Plant microbiota: War and peace under the surface

Fossilized ear bones rewrite the history of freshwater fish

Detection of phosphine in a brown dwarf atmosphere raises more questions

USF study: Ancient plankton hint at steadier future for ocean life

MIT researchers find a simple formula could guide the design of faster-charging, longer-lasting batteries

Towards efficient room-temperature fluorine recovery from fluoropolymers

Mapping RNA-protein 'chats' could uncover new treatments for cancer and brain disease

The hidden burden of solitude: How social withdrawal influences the adolescent brain

Kidney disease study reveals unexpected marker

AI wrote nearly a quarter of corporate press releases in 2024

The ‘big bad wolf’ fears the human ‘super predator’ – for good reason

Kidney organoid unlocks genetic cause of chronic kidney disease

Body composition and cardiometabolic risk in children

Use of ambient AI scribes to reduce administrative burden and professional burnout

Newly recognized pathway could protect diabetics from hypoglycemia

Studies find connection between impaired musical rhythm abilities and developmental speech-language disorders

[Press-News.org] New tiny prehistoric fish species unlocks origins of catfish and carp
Western collected micro-CT scans show saltwater species transitioned to freshwater