A Manitoba ancient fossil discovered in the 1990’s, newly named and reclassified 

Manitoba’s deep past just got a little bit clearer thanks to an exciting discovery of a newly identified ancient fish at the University of Manitoba.

Elmosteus Lundarens is a placoderm fish that lived just under 390 million years ago. The armored fish are some of our oldest ancestors with jaws, and this new discovery shines a spotlight on one of the earliest jawed fishes ever found in Manitoba.

“These fish being some of the first ones to have jaws help us understand the origins of jaws and teeth but also its early evolution,” said Dr. Melina Jobbins, Post-doc fellow at University of Manitoba.

The fossils were discovered in quarries along the east side of Lake Manitoba, specifically in the Elm Point Formation, which gave this ancient fish its name. The species was first identified back in the 1990s but only now, with new material and research, has it been reclassified.

“We did some analyses, to understand the relationship with the others in its group and that’s how we discovered it was more special not just a new species but a new genos which is a rank above,” said Jobbins.

This discovery not only adds to Manitoba’s fossil legacy, but also to Jobbins portfolio saying while she has named other species, everyone feels special in their own way.

“It makes me so happy to see it go out there, published and recognized by the scientific community,” said Jobbins.

While visitors can check out the fossils on display at the University of Manitoba’s Geological Sciences Museum, Jobbins says the search is far from over

“Were going to go back and explore more of the quarries we didn’t get to see yet and also go back to some of the old sites from the 90’s we didn’t get to see as well,” said Jobbins.