Emoji-like ancient fish fossil found in east China

The photo shows the restored shapes of two ancient fish species. (Provided by the researchers)

BEIJING, April 2 (Xinhua) -- Chinese researchers have discovered the fossil of two emoji-like ancient fish species in east China's Jiangxi Province.

The fish age was estimated as early Telychian, or the Silurian Lower Red Beds, dating back about 438 million years, according to the research article recently published in the Journal of Asian Earth Sciences.

The two new species, Qingshuiaspis junqingi and Anjiaspis ericius, were described from the lower Telychian Qingshui Formation in the province's Wuning County.

The finding represents the oldest and most primitive fossil record of the oldest eugaleaspiform fishes.

The Silurian marine Lower Red Beds are widespread and well exposed in the Yangtze Region. Lots of works on the early Silurian biostratigraphy, lithology and sedimentology have been carried out in China, while the geological age and the regional correlation of the Silurian Lower Red Beds in the region remain contentious due to the absence of reliable fossil evidence.

The study, conducted by researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, provides important fossil evidence for the correlation of the Silurian Lower Red Beds.  ■