436 million years old fish fossil found in Chongqing

How the fossil of Chongqing's oldest ever fish was found

According to Chen, the fossil of Binhai Yongdong fish was discovered in the 436 million years old early Silurian strata at Yongdong Township, Xiushan Tujia, and Miao Autonomous County in July 2020. More than 10 million years earlier than 423 million years old, Bianchengichthys, the oldest jawed fish fossil found in Chongqing in 2021, is the oldest fish fossil discovered in Chongqing date.

Chongqing's first creature named at the biological rank of family among all the paleontological fossils discovered in the city

As Binhai Yongdong fish occupies an important position in the evolution of early vertebrates, paleontologists have classified it at the biological rank of family, which has been the first time for Chongqing, and also named its new "genus" and "species."

According to Chen, the biological ranks in descending order are kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species taxonomically.

In this connection, the fossil of Binhai Yongdong fish found in the marine red beds of Chongqing is expected to provide new evidence of the subdivision and correlation of the Silurian strata in southern China, which is of significant stratigraphical meaning.