The fossil with the world’s oldest heart has been found. The interesting discovery, published in the journal Science, was made in Western Australia. The heart belonged to an now-extinct fish known as the Gogo. The researchers who made the discovery described the moment they realized that they had made the biggest discovery of their lives.
“WE CAN’T BELIEVE IT”
Curtin University scientist Prof. “We gathered around the computer and realized it had a heart and we couldn’t believe it! It was so exciting,” Kate Trinajstic told the BBC when they realized she and her colleagues had made the discovery.
It is usually bones rather than soft tissues that turn into fossils. But minerals found in the Gogo Formation in Western Australia’s Kimberley region have preserved most of this fossil’s internal organs, including the liver, stomach, intestines and heart.
prof. “This is a very important point in our evolution,” said Trinajstic. Professor at Flinders University. John Long described the find as “a mind-blowing, astonishing discovery.”
“Until now, we didn’t know anything about the soft organs of animals this old,” Long said.