Saturday, March 22, 2014

Luprisca incuba: Oldest Fossil Evidence of Paternal Care From Katian Ordovician


A portrait of prehistoric parenthood captured deep in the fossil record has been uncovered by an international team of scientists led by University of Leicester geologist Professor David Siveter.

The 'nursery in the sea' has revealed a species new to science – with specimens preserved incubating their eggs together with probable hatched individuals. As a result, the team has named the new species Luprisca incuba after Lucina, goddess of childbirth, and alluding to the fact that the fossils are ancient and in each case the mother was literally sitting on her eggs.

The find, published in the journal Current Biology, provides conclusive evidence of a reproductive and brood-care strategy conserved for at least 450 million years. It also represents the oldest confirmed occurrence of ostracods in the fossil record.

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