Latest news with #MariaMcNamara
RTÉ News
20 hours ago
- Science
- RTÉ News
UCC palaeontologists discover new fossil reptile species
An international team of researchers, including palaeontologists at University College Cork (UCC), has discovered a new species of fossil reptile from the Triassic period that had a large crest made of complex plume-like structures - long before modern-type feathers evolved. The 247-million-year-old Mirasaura grauvogeli, from the Grès à Voltzia locality in northeastern France, had a bizarre showy plume of long outer layer structures. These share similarities with feathers, despite existing 70 million years before the oldest fossil feathers. The research, published today in the journal Nature, includes UCC palaeontologists Prof Maria McNamara, Dr Valentina Rossi and Dr Tiffany Slater. The study was led by an international team from Germany, Italy, France and the USA. The UCC team analysed the fossil outer layer structures, using scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray analyses. The fossil tissue is rich in cell organelles that contain melanin pigments that are common in skin, hair, feathers and internal organs of fossil and modern vertebrate animals. The team in Cork discovered that the melanosomes in Mirasaura are similar in shape to those in feathers, but not mammal hair or reptilian skin. "We know that in modern animals, melanosome shape is closely linked to tissue type," said Dr Rossi. "We can therefore be confident that the Mirasaura structures share some common developmental features with feathers". Unlike feathers in modern birds, however, the Mirasaura structures lack branching, showing instead a simple long, medial feature that superficially resembles the shaft of modern bird feathers. "We were looking in the right time window, but we were shocked to find long integumentary structures in a completely different group of ancient reptiles," said Prof McNamara. "The next step is to consider the effects of fossilisation. "By integrating this with more detailed characterisation of the fossil tissues, we will learn more about the shared history of the Mirasaura structures and other structures, such as feathers." Dr Slater said: "It's amazing - this creature forces us back to the drawing board for when feather-like structures first evolved. Mirasaura reveals a deeper, more complex evolutionary story than we ever expected."
Irish Times
a day ago
- Science
- Irish Times
Irish university central to discovery of ancient reptile that forces evolution rethink
A newly discovered reptile has led scientists 'back to the drawing board' on feather evolution. Although existing 70 million years before the oldest fossil feathers, the Mirasaura grauvogeli has long outer layer structures which share similarities with feathers. Originating from Grès à Voltzia in northeastern France, these reptiles had a large crest of plume-like structures, similar to how modern-day feathers look. Palaeontologists at University College Cork (UCC), along with an international team of researchers from Germany , Italy , France and the USA , discovered the new species of fossil reptile from the Triassic period, which ended around 201 million years ago. Professor Maria McNamara, leader of the UCC team and co-author of the study, told The Irish Times that the fossils were 'originally discovered in the 1930s by an amateur, Louis Grauvogel', who retained and protected them during the second World War. READ MORE Prof Maria McNamara and Dr Valentina Rossi with a fossil specimen showing the Mirasaura crest. Photograph: UCC 'They were kind of rediscovered by the family in an old drawer' and 'donated to the Stuttgart museum of national history', she said. The team at UCC, made up of Prof McNamara, Dr Valentina Rossi and Dr Tiffany Slater, were asked to analyse the soft tissues of the specimen. They examined the fossil's outer layer using scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray analyses. The microscope used by the UCC team allowed them to examine the sample without applying any conductive coating (such as metal or gold), which usually improves the imaging of samples. 'Our electron microscope allows us to put in whole big fossils without coating them', so 'it doesn't damage the specimens in any way', said Prof McNamara. The synchrotron X-ray analysis told the researchers of the chemical composition of the fossil. They found the fossil's soft tissues were rich in copper, which is a common element associated with feathers. The holotype of Mirasaura showing the bird-like skull and the crest along the back. Credit: Stephan Spiekman The team also found the fossil tissue was rich in preserved melanosomes (cell organelles that contain melanin pigments), which are common in the feathers, skin, hair and internal organs of fossil and modern vertebrate animals. They discovered that the melanosomes in Mirasaura are similar in shape to those in feathers, but not mammal hair or reptilian skin. 'We know that in modern animals, melanosome shape is closely linked to tissue type,' said Dr Rossi. 'We can therefore be confident that the Mirasaura structures share some common developmental features with feathers.' Dr Slater said the discovery 'forces us back to the drawing board for when feather-like structures first evolved'. She added: 'Mirasaura reveals a deeper, more complex evolutionary story than we ever expected.' Prof McNamara said this discovery 'suggests there is the very real possibility other ancient reptiles were evolving very showy plumes', which is 'really exciting'. She added that such discoveries would not be possible 'if those specimens remained in private hands'. 'Because these specimens were donated to a public institution, it's only then that they became accessible to scientists, and only because of that goodwill that we are able to make these really ground-breaking discoveries,' she said.
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Science
- Irish Examiner
UCC scientists part of international team that discovered 250-million-year-old 'wonder reptile'
Irish palaeontologists have helped discover an ancient "wonder reptile" which completely disrupts the scientific view of how skin and feathers evolved in reptiles. The international research team, which included experts from University College Cork (UCC), discovered the new species of fossil reptile in France, and dated to the Triassic period some 250 million years ago, with a bizarre plume on its back that is similar to feathers. But this creature existed some 70 million years before the oldest fossil feathers. The discovery has completely disrupted our view of the evolution of skin and feathers in reptiles, the team said, as they published their findings in the journal Nature, on Tuesday. The study was led by scientists Dr Stephan Spiekman and Prof Rainer Schoch from the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, Germany, along with an international team from Germany, Italy, France and the USA. The team included UCC palaeontologists Prof Maria McNamara, Dr Valentina Rossi, and Dr Tiffany Slater. Their discovery centres on the 247-million-year-old Mirasaura grauvogeli, from the Grès à Voltzia area in northeastern France. Prof Maria McNamara and Dr Valentina Rossi from UCC with a fossil specimen showing the Mirasaura crest. Picture: UCC Scans of its fossil show the reptile had a delicate, bird-like skull with a largely toothless snout, large forward-facing eyes and a high, domed skull. These features, plus its grasping forelimbs, point to a tree-dwelling lifestyle and diet of insects and other small prey. But it also had a bizarre showy plume of long outer layer structures on its back that are similar to feathers. The UCC team analysed the fossil's outer layer structures using scanning electron microscopy and synchrotron X-ray analyses, focusing on their preserved melanosomes — cell organelles that contain melanin pigments that are common in skin, hair, feathers and internal organs of fossil and modern vertebrate animals. They discovered the melanosomes in this reptile are similar in shape to those in feathers, but not mammal hair or reptilian skin. 'We know that in modern animals, melanosome shape is closely linked to tissue type,' Dr Rossi said. 'We can therefore be confident that the Mirasaura structures share some common developmental features with feathers.' Unlike feathers in modern birds, however, the Mirasaura structures lack branching, showing instead a simple long feature that superficially resembles the shaft of modern bird feathers. Prof McNamara, leader of the UCC team and coauthor of the study, said: 'We were looking in the right time window, but we were shocked to find long integumentary structures in a completely different group of ancient reptiles.' Co-author Dr Slater said this creature forces scientists back to the drawing board for when feather-like structures first evolved. 'Mirasaura reveals a deeper, more complex evolutionary story than we ever expected," she said. Read More Ireland to ban industrial sprat fishing in inshore waters from October 2026
Irish Examiner
15-06-2025
- Science
- Irish Examiner
Hidden in plain sight: join the search for Ireland's fossils
Lazing on the beach, a trip to the shops, or going for a hike… these activities don't normally remind us of fossils. But a new campaign from University College Cork is aiming to change that — and is urging us all to search for fossils in locations all around the country. This initiative, called 'The Great Irish Fossil Hunt', is calling on the public to discover and report any fossils they find across the island of Ireland. Simply make sure the fossil is publicly accessible (not in a private garden!) and is in solid rock (not loose). You can then send a photo of your fossil discovery to the UCC team using the instructions below. Gastropod conical on city street Few people in Ireland realise that fossils are all around us, in the natural rock outcrops at our beaches and on mountains. We are even less aware of the fossils that are locked inside the building stones that make up the footpaths, gutters, windowsills, doorsteps and paving stones of our towns and cities. Astonishingly, this means that many of us are walking past — or even walking on — fossils every day. The Great Irish Fossil Hunt is led by Professor Maria McNamara and her team of palaeontologists at UCC's School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, as part of the nationwide 'Ireland's Fossil Heritage' project funded by Research Ireland and the European Research Council. The Great Irish Fossil Hunt continues until August 31 You can send photographs of your fossil finds to the UCC team using the form on the campaign website, including the Google maps location. The team will then travel the country checking and validating the submitted photographs during the summer months. The validated sites will be used to build a new fossil map of Ireland, that will be launched during Science Week. Prof. McNamara said: 'Here in Ireland we are really lucky to have a wonderful fossil heritage that includes amazing ancient sea creatures that lived in tropical ocean reefs, and huge ancient trees that lived in swampy forests, all preserved in our limestone, sandstone and mudstone rocks. We have even more fossils visible in the building stones of our towns and cities. For historical, social and scientific reasons, however, the fossils of Ireland have been overlooked and not given the prominence that they deserve. Through the Great Irish Fossil Hunt, we want to shine a spotlight on the fossils of Ireland, and get people hunting for the fossils that are right under our noses.' Crinoid ossicles Dr Jess Franklin, senior engagement officer with the project, explains how you can get involved: 'It's really easy to make a submission. If you spot a fossil when you're out and about, simply take a photo and upload it using the form on our website. Remember to include the Google maps location, and if you have a coin handy, you can include it in the photo for scale. You can even opt-in to have your name displayed with your submission, if it's chosen for inclusion on the new fossil map.' Dr Jess Franklin with Ann Francis of Cork Camera Club examining fossils on the facade of Eason on Patrick Street, Cork The fossil submissions should be from in-situ building stones or natural rocky outcrops — fossils that are loose, or in loose stones don't qualify. The fossils should also be located in areas that are accessible to the general public, so fossils in private gardens or private farms are not eligible. The campaign raises the prospect of exciting fossil discoveries. Prof. McNamara said: 'Despite the small size of the country, Ireland has some globally important fossils. Our Devonian sandstones and siltstones include some of the oldest plants on land — including the little moss-like plant Cooksonia, from the Devil's Bit Mountains in Tipperary — and the oldest accepted evidence of animals walking on land, at the Valentia Tetrapod Trackway in Kerry. Our Carboniferous limestones are famous for their marine fossils, that record life in ancient tropical seas (see panel). There are even fossils of dinosaurs and marine reptiles preserved in Jurassic rocks in County Antrim." Crinoid ossicles cross-section "There are far more rocks exposed along our coasts and in our building stones than all the palaeontologists in Ireland can examine, so the fossil hunt campaign raises the very real possibility that members of the public might discover fossils of scientific importance.' Much of the common building stone used in Irish towns and cities is from Ireland, especially carboniferous limestone. You can find pictures of the most common Irish fossils on the Ireland's Fossil Heritage website. There are fossils locked inside the building stones that make up the footpaths, gutters, windowsills, doorsteps and paving stones of our towns and cities — this means that many of us are walking past, or even walking on, fossils every day Some building stones, however, are from Britain and further afield, and preserve additional types of fossils, such as the large spiral ammonites of the Jura limestones and the cone-shaped gastropod shells in the Portland Roach limestones. All of these fossils will be captured for the first time in the new fossil map of Ireland, making fossils accessible to the public, no matter whether they live in a built-up area or a very rural area. If you're not sure if what you've found is indeed a fossil, feel free to email the team at UCC directly. The deadline for fossil submissions is 5pm on August 31. Further details are available here Common Irish fossils Brachiopod arc Brachiopods: Brachiopods are shellfish with two shells joined by a ligament on one side, but they are often preserved in rocks as only one shell. You can recognise fossil brachiopods in rocks as whole shells, or as white crescents or circles in cross section. Solitary coral (cross-section) Corals: Corals are marine animals that gather food particles from the surrounding water using soft tentacles. Some ancient corals lived alone (these are called solitary corals) but others lived in large groups and shared a common skeleton (colonial corals). Fossil corals have a distinctive pattern of radial lines inside their skeleton, which looks like spokes on a bicycle wheel in cross section. Crinoid stems Crinoids: Irish fossil crinoids were attached to the seafloor and had feathery arms that could open like an umbrella to collect food particles drifting by on ocean currents. Most of the crinoid's hard skeleton is made up of circular plates called ossicles joined together by ligaments. When crinoids die, the ligaments rot away and the ossicles are usually scattered by waves and currents. Sometimes the plates don't separate fully and instead, we can see a stack of the plates (like a stack of polo mints).
