A brand-new species of lily found in Africa was named after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy by Polish paleontologists. On the Royal Society Publishing website, it stated that the etymology of the species is in honor of the sixth and current president of Ukraine because of his courage and bravery in defending the country from the Russian invasion. The research was funded by the National Science Centre.
New Lily Species Named After President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
To come up with the right taxonomy, one of the things the researchers identified was the parts of the flower and its structure. Based on the findings, it is a comatulid with five broad but low radials, giving rise to 10 arms. It also has pinnules with an oval or circular cross-section but lacks comb-like features.
The species type is Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi. Ausichicrinites is considered a new genus, which comes from the order Comatulida and suborder Comatulidina. Its superfamily and family were uncertain.
The species has a central mouth, and the basals are reduced to narrow rays. Fifteen uneven columns of two to three rows of cirrus sockets are arranged in a rather low, truncated conical centrodorsal. The centrodorsal aboral end is cirrus-free and has a prominent tubercle in the middle. Cryptosyzygy connects the IBr2 series. The longer and smoother proximal segments are the middle and distal cirral segments.
The research presented an extremely rare complete comatulid from the Upper Jurassic (Tithonian) of the Blue Nile Basin in central western Ethiopia, offering a unique perspective on the morphology of comatulid arms and cirri.
Modern echinoderms are well-known for their capacity to regenerate and quickly replace missing limbs. Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi exhibits regeneration of a lost limb. It is the first time that a fossil has been shown to regenerate.
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Additional Information About the Fossil Comatulids
Most fossilized comatulids, also known as feather stars, come from extremely disarticulated specimens. The single isolated element (centrodorsal) has served as the foundation for taxonomic description.
Feather stars are members of the order Comatulida, the most diverse crinoid lineage (ancient marine animals).
According to Hess and Messing, comatulid fossils date back to the Late Triassic, 150 million years ago.
In a paper that was peer-reviewed and published in the UK journal Royal Society Open Science, scientists from Poland and Ethiopia explained that comatulids are the only surviving crinoid group. It spreads globally in both shallow and deep water environments.
The authors claim that throughout development, comatulids lose their stalks and move by swimming and crawling. Although feather stars have been found in fossil form before, dating to the Late Triassic epoch, or between 237 and 201 million years ago, most of the fossils were incomplete.
Amphorometra bellilensis (Valette) is the only Mesozoic comatulid discovered in Africa. It comes from the Cenomanian or Turonian in the Djebel Bellil in south Tunisia, and it is based on a single centrodorsal. On the other hand, Ausichicrinites zelenskyyi is one of the most complete fossil comatulids reported specimens to date. The discovery offered novel insights into the morphology of its arms and cirri. It is also the oldest record from the African continent.
The described specimen was possibly buried quickly, potentially even while still alive, given the significant post-mortem disarticulation gradient in comatulids. During storm disturbance (high energy, shallow water conditions) and/or after the specimen was exposed on the outcrop, distal arm pieces and some cirri may have been lost.
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