The search for the locations of skeletons and mummies of extinct organisms will be carried out in the Lena Pillars National Park

Expedition members in the Lena Pillars National Park in Yakutia this summer will search for paleontological sites. This is stated in a message on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia on the occasion of Earth Day, which is celebrated in many countries on March 20.

As noted in the department, the geomorphological formations that gave the name to the national park are composed of Cambrian rocks, which contain a rich complex of fossil remains of marine animals and aquatic plants. A feature of the Cambrian deposits of the national park and adjacent territories is the tendency to form paleontological sites - lagerstetts containing complete skeletons, mummified organic bodies and other remains of extinct organisms, exceptional in terms of completeness of preservation.

“Search and study of lagerstetts and fossils concentrated in them has been a priority direction of world paleobiology over the past few decades. All the Cambrian lagerstettes known in Russia and the countries of the former USSR were found only within the Lena Pillars National Park, - said the director of the Lena Pillars National Park, Arkady Semenov, quoted by the Ministry of Natural Resources.

According to him, lagerstettes and the fossils contained in them, due to their scientific significance, visibility and localization, are of exceptional interest to domestic and foreign scientists, local historians and collectors.

“Their study, popularization and protection can become one of the important activities of PAs. However, a complete survey of the territory of the national park in order to identify lagerstatt manifestations has never been carried out. The nearest plans for the summer of 2023 include the organization of two expeditions for this purpose with the participation of the Paleontological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said the director of the national park.