A fossil site in Egypt has yielded nearly 500 marine fish fossils, offering a rare and direct snapshot of ocean life just 4 million years after the asteroid strike that ended the age of dinosaurs.
A fossil site in the Eastern Desert of Egypt has yielded nearly 500 marine fish fossils dating to approximately 62.2 million years ago, providing direct evidence of a diverse marine ecosystem roughly 4 million years after the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) extinction event. The discovery, published in Science Advances, helps fill a significant gap in the fossil record and indicates that several groups of modern-looking fish became established relatively soon after the mass extinction that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs.
Discovery and Location
The fossil site, known as Qreiya 3, is located in Egypt's Eastern Desert. It was identified by geologist Robert Speijer of KU Leuven. Expeditions were conducted in 2021 and 2023, with the latter supported by a National Geographic grant. The research was led by paleontologists from Mansoura University and the University of Michigan. The fossils are curated at the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center.
Key Findings
- Age and Context: The fossils are dated to 62.2 million years ago, approximately 4 million years after the asteroid impact that is widely associated with the K-Pg extinction event 66 million years ago.
- Fish Diversity: The deposit contains nearly 500 fish fossils, representing 21 kinds of fishes across nine orders. Researchers identified early relatives of tunas, jacks, moonfishes, pipefishes (the family including seahorses), and other modern marine groups. The fossils include the earliest known fossil skeletons of jack, moonfish, and pipefish.
- Composition: Most of the identified fish are percomorphs, a group that is common in modern oceans but was rare during the age of dinosaurs.
- Absence of Cretaceous Lineages: The site largely lacks Cretaceous-era marine fish lineages. This evidence suggests those lineages went extinct at or near the time of the asteroid impact.
Significance for Understanding Recovery
The discovery addresses a fossil-poor interval in the early Cenozoic era, sometimes referred to as "Patterson's Gap," which spans approximately 10 million years between 66 and 56 million years ago. The Qreiya 3 site provides direct evidence that a diverse community of modern-looking fish was established within a few million years after the K-Pg extinction.
Project Leadership and Support
The research was led by Mansoura University graduate student Sanaa El-Sayed, who is also a doctoral student at the University of Michigan, working alongside the Mansoura University Vertebrate Paleontology Center team. The study was supported by Mansoura University, the University of Michigan, National Geographic, and the U.S. National Science Foundation.