Gli studi condotti dal Museo cantonale di storia naturale sul Monte San Giorgio (patrimonio mondiale dell’UNESCO dal 2003) in collaborazione con l’Università di Monaco di Baviera (Dr. Adriana Lòpez-Arbarello), l’Istituto di paleontologia dell’Università di Zurigo (Dr. Heinz Furrer) e il Naturmuseum di San Gallo (Dr. Toni Bürgin) hanno permesso di individuare un nuovo genere di pesce fossile. Battezzato “Ticinolepis”, il fossile è stato rinvenuto in strati di età compresa tra i 242 e i 240 milioni di anni fa.
Scoperto sul San Giorgio un nuovo tipo di pesce fossile
Il nuovo genere di pesce fossile comprende due specie: la Ticinolepis crassidens e la Ticinolepis longaeva. Quest’ultima era stata rinvenuta nel 2008 durante gli scavi condotti dal Museo cantonale di storia naturale (MCSN) a Cassina, sotto la direzione del Dr. Rudolf Stockar. Ricerche successive effettuate dal 2012 dal MCSN nella Valle di Sceltrich ne avevano portato alla luce ulteriori esemplari. A oggi, gli esemplari di questa specie - una trentina, della lunghezza di quasi 25 cm - sono conservati nello stesso MCSN e costituiscono, a livello mondiale, la collezione di riferimento di questa specie.
Lo studio relativo a questa scoperta è stato appena pubblicato dalla rivista scientifica internazionale PeerJ. La descrizione anatomica dei fossili ha permesso di attribuire provvisoriamente il nuovo genere ai Ginglymodi, un gruppo di pesci diffuso nel Triassico che oggi conta solo sette specie viventi. Ulteriori approfondimenti saranno necessari per chiarirne la posizione sistematica.
Swing
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