A unique fossil site in southern France reveals the history of polar ecosystems

In 2018, a pair of enthusiastic paleontologists discovered a site in southern France where, in addition to the usual fossilized shells and skeletons, even remains of soft bodies of ancient organisms were preserved. This site, the study of which was also contributed by Lukáš Laibl of the Institute of Geology of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and Martina Nohejlová of the Czech Geological Survey, offers a hitherto unknown view of polar ecosystems 470 million years ago. The site was located near the South Pole at that time, whereas the most similar sites with preserved soft bodies come from former tropical regions. Moreover, the high diversity of species at the new site confirms the migration hypothesis towards the southern hemisphere, where these species sought refuge from the high temperatures prevailing in the then-tropical zones.
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Image caption: Artistic reconstruction of the Cabrières biota © Christian McCall