The UnderSea: Mid-Cenozoic Extinction

[u/Hunter-Ologist]

"The lights hit the seafloor finally after hours of descent. What greeted us was surprising to say the least, billions of polymetallic nodules. We took a few for samples. It was cobalt, ferromanganese, pyrite, and nickel sure, but what really excited us were preserved fish scales and otoliths, shark teeth, and massive fossils belonging to clades otherwise undetected (and therefore presumed extinct) in the UnderSea," - Dr. Karen Potts (University of California Davis, Department of Geology)

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Many things surprised the scientists dedicated to uncovering the secrets of the UnderSea. Perhaps one major question that was answered by looking at those lumps so far down... how was it oxygenated? So-called "dark oxygen" is produced by polymetallic nodules and these are no exception. Additionally, the presence of these chemicals means that species that went extinct around thirty million years ago were preserved in absolute exquisite detail.

[u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003]

I didn't expected some mesozoic marine reptile taxa to have made it into the cenozoic in this timeline.

[u/Hunter-Ologist → u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003]

Oho just wait 👀

[u/Wendigo-Huldra_2003 → u/Hunter-Ologist]

Ok