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Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scientists identified a new coelacanth species, Graulia branchiodonta, in fossils from eastern France dating to roughly 242–237 million years ago. They did not discover an exposed fossil with a particle accelerator: synchrotron X-rays at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) imaged bones hidden inside rock, and researchers used the scans to build a digital three-dimensional reconstruction.
What species did scientists discover?
The fish is Graulia branchiodonta, a previously unknown genus and species of coelacanth described in a peer-reviewed paper published in PLOS ONE on November 6, 2024. Coelacanths are an ancient group of lobe-finned fishes; the paper classifies this fossil as a mawsoniid coelacanth and places it near the base of the Mawsoniidae family.
The genus name refers to the Graoully, a mythical dragon in Lorraine folklore. The species name points to its large teeth on the gill arches. The authors note that its phylogenetic signal is weak, however, so its precise place among coelacanths is difficult to determine.
How old is Graulia branchiodonta?
The fossils came from Middle Triassic clay nodules near Sarraltroff in Moselle, Lorraine, eastern France. Manuelli and colleagues assign the deposits to the Middle Ladinian (Fassanian), about 242–237 million years ago. Calling the fish “240 million years old” is a rounded description of that geological range, not a more precise date for either specimen. The study’s geological assignment and findings give the basis for the age.
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How did a particle accelerator reveal the fossil?
The ESRF in Grenoble is a particle-accelerator facility that produces synchrotron radiation. For this study, that radiation was used for micro-computed tomography (micro-CT): X-rays passed through the clay nodules and captured internal structure that ordinary surface examination could not show. The accelerator did not uncover or extract the fossils; it made their buried anatomy imageable.
Researchers then used computer-assisted segmentation to distinguish bones and other anatomical structures from the surrounding rock and assembled the results into virtual 3D models. The University of Geneva account describes hundreds of hours of work to individualize the bones. The imaging supplied the data; the digital reconstruction and anatomical interpretation were the researchers’ work.
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The study examined two three-dimensionally preserved specimens. The University of Geneva reports that one is approximately 15 centimetres long. Synchrotron micro-CT made it possible to investigate internal anatomy while the remains were still embedded, rather than relying only on exposed surfaces. The university’s account of the discovery and reconstruction describes the process.
What did the scans show?
The two specimens preserve an unusually complete Mesozoic coelacanth skeleton, allowing the authors to describe the skull, fins, lung and vertebral column in detail. A striking feature is a well-developed, three-lobed ossified lung.
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Its function is not known. The authors discuss respiration, hearing and buoyancy as possible roles, not confirmed explanations. The presence of the structure is evidence from the fossils; what it did remains unresolved.
The specimens are juveniles, and the team also identified highly developed sensory canals. The University of Geneva suggests that the fish may have been more active than living coelacanths of the genus Latimeria. That is an inference from anatomy, not direct evidence of how these extinct animals behaved.
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What does the discovery add to coelacanth history?
The study adds anatomical evidence about mawsoniid coelacanths during their early diversification after the Permian–Triassic biodiversity crisis. Its detailed reconstruction helps researchers compare features that are difficult to assess in fossils hidden within rock.
It does not settle the evolutionary relationships among coelacanths. The authors’ own analysis finds the new species’ phylogenetic signal weak, limiting how confidently its exact relationships can be resolved. The paper’s contribution is a richly described fossil and new evidence for comparison, rather than a wholesale revision of coelacanth evolution. Read the open-access paper in PLOS ONE; the authors state that scan files will be made publicly available through the ESRF Paleontology Database.
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