Fossils in China reveal rise of jawed vertebrates

STORY: Fossils in China reveal rise of jawed vertebrates DATELINE: Oct. 1, 2022 LENGTH: 00:00:35 LOCATION: CHONGQING, China CATEGORY: SCIENCE SHOTLIST: 1. pictures of fossils 2. various of computer-generated images of Silurian fish species STORYLINE: A trove of fossils in China unearthed in rocks dating back some 440 million years showed new fish species and provided concrete evidence of the origin and earliest evolution of the jawed vertebrates. The four papers published Wednesday in the journal Nature described an array of findings based on the fossils found at two fossil beds in the early Silurian strata -- "Chongqing Fossil Bed" and "Guizhou Shiqian Fossil Bed." Silurian is an era about 440 to 410 million years ago, during which the jawed vertebrates evolved. It was a breakthrough in life evolution, but it lacks previous paleontological records. Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Chongqing, China. (XHTV)