The reporter learned from the Hubei Academy of Geological Sciences on the 2nd that during a recent geological survey in the northwest of Yunxi County, Hubei Province, the institute's research team discovered rich and typical Devonian coral fossils, which provide evidence that sea and land changes have occurred in the Qinling Mountains. The incident provided important scientific physical evidence.
The pictures in this article are all pictures of the WeChat public account released by Yunxi
Zhao Bi, director of the Paleontological Fossil Research Center of the Hubei Academy of Geological Sciences, said that the coral fossils discovered in Yunxi this time are mainly found in the pink crystal and fine-crystalline limestone marine strata of the middle and late Devonian Period, involving more than 10 species of corals. type. It is reported that the Devonian coral fossils discovered this time are mainly complex coral types, and the occurrence area is vast, more than 300 square kilometers, showing the characteristics of large-scale ancient marine reef construction.
"The mountainous area in the northwest of Yunxi County was an 'ancient Great Barrier Reef' 350 million years ago." Zhao Bi told reporters that coral is one of the oldest marine organisms on earth and the most famous marine reef-building organism. The Devonian period is an important period in the history of the earth, dating from 419 million to 359 million years ago. It is also the most important period of coral reef building in earth history. The large-scale discovery of coral fossils in Yunxi not only shows that the Qinling Mountains were submerged by large areas of seawater before the mountains were formed, but also shows that the area was an important area for large-scale reef building by ancient corals in shallow seas.
The location where the coral fossils were discovered is located in Daliang, Yunxi, also known as Daliang, Hubei. It is an important part of the Qinling Mountains. It stretches from east to west between Hubei and Shaanxi provinces, with a total length of 60 kilometers. It is the geographical and climatic dividing line between the two provinces. .