ESRF – Lightsources.org

The day the Herculaneum scrolls began speaking…

2026/06/252026/06/25

The Vesuvius Challenge has achieved a historic discovery in the Herculaneum scrolls, revealing new texts, titles and authors unknown to history and ushering in a new era for the study of the ancient world. The discovery was made possible through high-resolution micro-CT scanning conducted at the ESRF and Diamond Lightsource in the UK.

“For nearly two millennia, many of these texts have been physically preserved but intellectually inaccessible,” Brent Seales, Vesuvius Challenge co-founder and the Stanley and Karen Pigman Chair of Heritage Science at University of Kentucky, says. “Today — after years of interdisciplinary work combining advanced imaging, artificial intelligence (AI), academic research and an innovation contest — we are finally able to read them.”

One of the oldest scrolls in the collection

Among the most significant findings announced is the recovery of substantial new text from PHerc. 1667 — a scroll housed in Naples, Italy.

The Vesuvius Challenge team has now virtually unwrapped the surviving portion of the scroll — revealing nearly 1.5 meters of continuous text and approximately 20 columns of writing.

“This scroll was deemed completely unreadable when part of it was opened in the 1980s,” Federica Nicolardi, assistant professor in papyrology at the Università degli Studi di Napoli Federico II, said.

“The scroll’s handwriting and internal references suggest the artifact dates from the second century B.C. or possibly from the late third century B.C. — making it one of the oldest scrolls in the collection,” she explained.

While the title and author remain unknown, both the early dating and its contents suggest a writer other than Philodemus of Gadara — the Greek philosopher whose works predominate the discoveries from Herculaneum papyri to date.

A philosophical -stoic?- treatise

According to the papyrological team’s analysis, the text does appear to be a philosophical treatise concerned with ethics, arts and human behavior, likely reflecting Stoic thought.

The recovered text preserves discussions of core Stoic concepts, including ὁρμή (hormē), or impulse, understood as the drive to act common to both humans and animals. The author appears to warn against excessive impulse — ὁ πλεoνασμός κατὰ τὴν ὁρμήν (ho pleonasmos kata tēn hormēn — when reason fails to regulate behavior and leads to a harmful passion or diversion from one’s goals.

Another key concept is φρόνησις (phronēsis), or practical wisdom — the set of intellectual activities that guide one to make the right choices and to choose virtues over vices.

Image: The scrolls from Herculaneum

Credit: EduceLab

ESRF and DESY join forces to build a European software ecosystem for photon science

2026/06/242026/06/25

On the eve of the 86th meeting of the ESRF Council, hosted by DESY in Hamburg, The ESRF, the European synchrotron located in Grenoble, and DESY, the Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron, have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their collaboration in the development of advanced software, data and computing technologies for photon science. Both operating world-leading high-energy synchrotron facilities, the two research centres are combining their complementary expertise to build a sustainable European software ecosystem that can support current and future generations of synchrotron and photon science facilities – a collaborative effort designed from the outset to welcome broader participation from research infrastructures across Europe.

At a time when scientific competitiveness increasingly depends on the ability to develop, deploy and maintain sophisticated software infrastructures, the ESRF and DESY are combining their expertise to advance shared solutions for beamline control, data acquisition, data analysis and scientific computing — with the ambition of creating the foundations for a community-driven European ecosystem that can evolve sustainably and respond to the growing needs of photon science.

DESY and the ESRF share a long-standing and productive partnership across multiple scientific and technological domains. This year, as the ESRF celebrates six years of successful operation of ESRF-EBS, the first of a new kind of fourth-generation high-energy synchrotrons, and as DESY progresses with the PETRA IV upgrade towards the brightest of synchrotron facilities, this new MoU reflects the strategic complementarity of the two research infrastructures. Together, they bring expertise spanning facility operation, instrumentation, software engineering, data management and scientific computing, creating a strong foundation for the development of common solutions for the benefit of the wider scientific community.

Image: The signature ceremony of the MoU

Credit: Marta Mayer, DESY

New 3D map of the electrical wiring of the heart to help patients with congenital heart disease

2026/06/022026/06/02

Researchers from UCL (University College London) and the ESRF (The European Synchrotron) have produced the first three-dimensional map of the heart’s electrical wiring in Tetralogy of Fallot, one of the most common congenital heart problems, revealing anatomical features that may explain why many patients develop heart conduction disorders in this condition. The research, part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration, can be used for surgical training and lead to even better outcomes for patients. The research is out in The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Congenital heart disease affects around 1% of the population worldwide. In many cases, babies must undergo life-saving heart surgery shortly after birth. Although survival rates are now high, many patients develop complications later in life, particularly abnormal heart rhythms or contraction patterns. Surgeons have long known that these problems can arise when the heart’s delicate electrical conduction system, which is invisible during surgery, is disturbed.

Andrew Cook, professor of Cardiac anatomy at UCL and senior author of the study, explains: “I often compare it to renovating a house: you wouldn’t want to start drilling into a wall without knowing where the electrical wires are. The same principle applies to the heart”. Instead, surgeons use ‘anatomical landmarks’ and these have now been revised in the study.

This research is part of the Human Organ Atlas international collaboration. The Atlas is powered by an advanced imaging method called Hierarchical Phase-Contrast Tomography (HiP-CT), developed at the European Synchrotron (ESRF) in Grenoble, France, by an international team led by University College London (UCL), UK to visualise anatomy in unprecedented detail.

Image: Rendering of a heart with Tetralogy of Fallot showing the septal defect.

Credit: Joseph Brunet, Cinematic Anatomy (Siemens Healthineers)

New additively manufactured lattice could lead to stiffer and stronger lightweight materials

2026/04/302026/04/30

Researchers have engineered a series of additively manufactured triply-twinned Body‐Centred Cubic (BCCT) lattices that distribute stress more efficiently, enabling lighter structures with significantly improved stiffness, strength, and damage-tolerance. This lattice achieves up to three-fold improved performance compared to conventional lattice architecture. They have studied its structure and how to remove defects using the ESRF’s extremely brilliant source. The results are out in Advanced Materials.

Triply-twinned architected lattices are engineered materials made of repeating 3D structures arranged in a precise pattern. ‘Triply-twinned’ refers to three reflection planes in each unit about which sub-structures are mirrored, giving the structure extra strength under compression. In general, they are made from polymers or metals, depending on the application.

Currently, scientists are exploring them for potential applications where low weight is critical, such as in aerospace, energy and advanced engineering. However, they are not yet common in commercial products, with the main limitation being the manufacturing process.

“We are excited to translate the concept of twinning, normally observed at the atomic scale, into centimetre‑scale architected materials using additive manufacturing. This approach allows us to precisely tailor stiffness, strength, and damage tolerance, opening new opportunities for applications ranging from biomedical implants and heat exchangers to energy‑absorbing components,” says Chu Lun Alex Leung, professor at University College London (UCL) and corresponding author of the publication.

Through the EPSRC International Centre to Centre collaboration: Manufacturing by Design, Leung (work package lead) and his team from UCL, together with scientists at the University of Sheffield and the ESRF have designed, engineered, characterised, and analysed a series of additively manufactured lattices that have shown a successful increase in the stiffness (+380%) and strength (+279%) of materials.

First-ever egg of a mammal ancestor discovered

2026/04/092026/04/10

Scientists from the University of Witwatersrand (South Africa) and the ESRF discover the first-ever egg of a mammal ancestor, a 250-million year-old proto-mammal embryo, with the help of the ESRF. The results are out now in PLoS ONE.

A new discovery is shedding light on one of the greatest survival stories in Earth’s history, and answering a decades-old scientific mystery. Lystrosaurus, a hardy, plant-eating mammal ancestor, rose to prominence in the wake of the End-Permian Mass Extinction some 252 million years ago, the most devastating extinction event our planet has ever experienced. While countless species vanished, Lystrosaurus not only survived, but thrived in a world marked by extreme environmental instability, intense heat, and prolonged droughts.

Now, new research published in PLoS ONE reveals a discovery that sheds new light on our understanding of this iconic survivor. An international team led by Julien Benoit, Jennifer Botha (Evolutionary Studies Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa), and Vincent Fernandez (ESRF ) has identified, for the first time, an egg containing an embryo of Lystrosaurus, dating back approximately 250 million years. This rare fossil represents the first-ever egg discovered from a mammal ancestor, finally answering a long-standing question: Did the ancestors of mammals lay eggs?

The answer is yes.

The researchers suggest these eggs were likely soft-shelled, explaining why they have remained elusive for so long. Unlike the hard, mineralized eggs of dinosaurs, which fossilize readily, soft-shelled eggs rarely preserve, making this find exceptionally rare. But the implications go far beyond reproduction.

“This fossil was discovered during a field excursion I led in 2008, nearly 17 years ago. My preparator and exceptional fossil finder, John Nyaphuli, identified a small nodule that at first revealed only tiny flecks of bone. As he carefully prepared the specimen, it became clear that it was a perfectly curled-up Lystrosaurus hatchling. I suspected even then that it had died within the egg, but at the time, we simply didn’t have the technology to confirm it,” says Botha.

Image: The egg photographed in the control room of the ESRF

Smarter fungicides: Fighting infection while protecting soil health

2026/03/232026/04/02

Copper nanoparticles could lead to less polluted soils in vineyards, according to a study published in Environmental Science: Nano. The researchers came to the ESRF’s ID21 to track how copper behaved in grapevines plants inoculated with a fungus.

Copper-based pesticides have been used around the world vineyards to keep fungal diseases at bay for more than a century in the form of Bordeaux mixture. Whilst it has proven to be extremely effective, copper is a metal and accumulates over time. Bordeaux mixture has a low affinity to plant leaves. When it rains, it washes it off the plants onto the soil, where it can harm earthworms, beneficial microbes and long-term soil health, which can lead to less productive soil in the long run.

Winemakers, particularly in the organic sector, where copper remains one of the few approved fungicides, face a difficult question: how can they protect their vines without poisoning their soils? With the aim of pushing more environmentally friendly practices, European regulators are increasingly limiting the amount of copper to be used in grapevines.

“We wanted to test whether copper nanoparticles (copper oxide) could be as reactive as the traditional sprays but using much less quantity”, explains Astrid Avellan, CNRS researcher and corresponding author of the publication.

Image: Astrid Avellán preparing the samples in the lab at the ESRF’s ID21

Credit: D. Salvador

Bringing cryo-correlative hard X-ray microscopy to life science

2026/02/272026/03/11

Scientists led by the ESRF, UGA and INSERM have developed cryo-correlative nano-imaging, a new technique that combines lab cryo-fluorescence microscopy, cryo X-ray fluorescence nanoimaging and phase-contrast nano-tomography on ID16A. The results are published in ACS Nano.

Biologists have long wanted to answer a deceptively simple question: what are the structures we see inside cells actually made of? Visible light fluorescence microscopy shows where organelles are, but not their chemical composition. Hard X-rays can map the chemistry but do not necessarily see the organelles. Cryo-correlative nanoprobe work remains rare, particularly for 3D elemental imaging of whole frozen cells.

A new study at ID16A beamline of the ESRF offers a practical solution. An international team has developed an integrated cryogenic workflow that links laboratory cryo-fluorescence microscopy to targeted cryo X-ray fluorescence (XRF) nano-imaging and phase-contrast nano-tomography.

With this new method, they have tracked therapeutic nanoparticles from the European ScanNtreat project as they moved through cancer cells, showing both where the particles went and what happened to them.

The first author of the publication, Dmitry Karpov, former ESRF scientist and now researcher at the Université Grenoble Alpes, explains how this new development can lead to applications: “This is an example of what the ESRF aims to do: to turn cutting-edge instrumentation into discoveries with direct impact on people’s lives, in this case for medicine and life sciences”.

ESRF X-rays capture vitamin B12 sensing light

2026/02/102026/02/12

Scientists led by the Institut de Biologie Structurale have combined advanced X-ray methods to unveil how a photoreceptor regulates carotenoid production in bacteria, including experiments at the ESRF. The results are out in Nature.

CarH is a photoreceptor which senses light through a vitamin B12 derivative and regulates carotenoid expression through direct interaction with genes. Bacteria use this remarkable machinery to regulate gene expression and produce carotenoid to protect themselves from photo-damage upon sun exposure. What scientists had never seen before was how tiny photoinduced changes at the vitamin B12 level, propagate into large-scale structural changes triggering a biological response. Now, an international collaboration has managed to film this process in unprecedented detail, with key experiments carried out at the ESRF and at XFELs.

CarH’s role has been clear since around 2015. In the dark, the protein binds to DNA and blocks the production of carotenoids. When light is present, CarH releases the DNA, allowing the cell to produce carotenoids that help defend against light-induced damage.

Previous crystal structures revealed the start and end points of this process. But the crucial missing piece was the journey in between — from the short-lived structural changes that occur immediately after light hits the vitamin B12 molecule to the large-scale conformational changes involving the whole protein structure and its interaction with DNA.

Image credit: CEA and Maria Davila Miliani

Engineering Division pilots equipment protection interlock system for Berkeley Lab user endstations

2026/01/232026/01/28

A new user-configurable equipment protection interlock system that helps protect scientific equipment and users will provide more flexibility and reliability while improving safety at the Lab.

Equipment protection interlock systems are a vital component of the infrastructure for many types of scientific equipment and facilities, especially at Berkeley Lab facilities like the Advanced Light Source (ALS), BELLA, and the Joint Genome Institute. These specialized interlock systems control the mechanisms that prevent unsafe conditions when using equipment. Actions like protecting beamline slits and components from overheating fall to interlock systems that have been custom-configured to meet the specific requirements of equipment and experiments. The Engineering Division is currently piloting a system for Berkeley Lab that will make setting up and using equipment protection system interlocks safer, faster, and more consistent—with minimal training and no need for coding on the user side.

This new tool has been developed at the ALS in collaboration with the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF). The underlying idea for the interlock system comes from ESRF, where more than 400 of the devices are already in use. When Ernesto Paiser, ALS Instrument Software Support Group Lead, formerly of ESRF, arrived at Berkeley Lab, he saw an opportunity to implement a similar system that would provide increased reliability and flexibility while improving safety and efficiency.

“When I started at the Lab,” says Paiser, “I was immediately confronted with numerous challenges related to the equipment protection system (EPS). One of the most significant issues was how complex and inaccessible the system was for end users when they needed to define or modify interlock requirements at the end stations. Even a minor request often required changes to the main front-end interlock program. Each modification triggered a full system retest, regardless of the scope of the change. In many cases, by the time the work was completed, the original request was no longer needed, yet the changes remained permanently embedded in the system.”

Image: Ernesto Paiser, ALS Instrument Software Support Group Lead, pictured with the new no-code interlock system.

Credit: Engineering Division

PANOSC consortium signs Memorandum of Understanding with the European Open Science Cloud

2025/12/182025/12/19

The Director General of the ESRF, Jean Daillant, representing the 11 partners of the Photon and Neutron Open Science Cloud (PaNOSC) , has signed the EOSC Federation Memorandum of Understanding with the EOSC Association today, in presence of ILL representatives.

The European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) Federation aims to create a seamless system where researchers across the continent can easily find, access, and use data and services to drive innovation. By linking hundreds of data repositories and tools, EOSC will make it simpler for scientists to find, share, analyze, and reuse FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, and Reusable) research outputs.

PaNOSC as the EOSC Node of the Photon and Neutron Open Science Cluster (PaNOSC), which includes all synchrotron and neutron sources in Europe, aims to connect the Photon and Neutron European research infrastructures to EOSC. Currently 11 Photon and Neutron Research Institutes have committed to providing data and services to the EOSC Federation through the PaNOSC EOSC Node – these are ESRF (as host institute), ALBA, DESY, ELETTRA, ESS, European XFEL, HZDR, ILL, MAX IV Laboratory, PSI, and SOLEIL.

Image: The signature took place in December at the ESRF. The DG of the ESRF, Jean Daillant, signed on behalf of PaNOSC. Mark Johnson (first left) represented the ILL in the event.

Credit: Alexia Daurat

Anna Pakhomova gets ERC grant to study possible life in icy moons

2025/12/092025/12/10

Anna Pakhomova, scientist at the ESRF, has been awarded the ERC Consolidator Grant for her project OCEAN, which aims to study the effect of high pressure on organic chemistry in large ocean worlds. The grant also acknowledges the new capabilities of high-pressure ESRF beamlines like ID27, which went through the Extremely Brilliant Source upgrade.

The presence of water in its liquid state is thought to have driven Earth’s prebiotic chemistry and is considered an essential element for the emergence of life. This is why icy moons harboring subsurface oceans are the most promising objects for extraterrestrial habitability.

There are several current and future space missions that will remotely probe intriguing Jupiter and Saturn’s icy moons. The ESA’s JUICE mission will arrive in 2031, the NASA’s Europa Clipper in 2030 and DragonFly will be launched in 2028.

“Until today, however, the question of the existence of life has always been looked at from the Earth’s perspective, while in fact, the pressure in the oceans of the Earth and those in icy moons is very different”, explains Pakhomova. “We know of some volatile organics in those large oceans that could be biological precursors, but we do not have information on their chemical evolution at the right pressure-temperature-composition conditions in water”, she adds. “This is what we want to find out with OCEAN”, she adds.

Image: Anna Pakhomova on beamline ID27

Credit: S. Candé

Is it light or humidity? Scientists identify the culprits of emerald green degradation in masterpieces

2025/11/192025/11/21

An international team of researchers have found what triggers degradation in one of the most popular pigments used by renowned 19th and 20th century painters. Using a multi-method approach, including advanced synchrotron radiation techniques, they’ve unveiled how light and humidity affect the masterpieces over time, and have proposed a strategy for its mitigation and monitoring. The results are out now in Science Advances.
During the 19th century, the Second Industrial Revolution sparked major advances in chemistry, giving rise to synthetic pigments that transformed art. Among them was emerald green, a vivid copper arsenite pigment admired for its brilliance and intensity.

Emerald green was used by well-known late 19th and early 20th century painters, such as Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Edvard Munch, and Robert Delaunay. Some of these painters, including Van Gogh, quickly realised that the paint would change over time, losing its original brilliant colour, cracking and triggering surface deformations. It was discovered later that it was also highly toxic.

Light and humidity

Researchers believe emerald green degrades because its chemical composition is highly unstable under light, humidity, and certain atmospheric gases. These conditions can cause the pigment to react and release arsenic compounds, alter its colour, or form dark copper oxides.
Now a research team led by the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Technologies “Giulio Natta” (SCITEC) of CNR and the Department of Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology of the University of Perugia, in collaboration with the ESRF, the European Synchrotron, and the University of Antwerp, has investigated what triggers the degradation of emerald green. The study1 aims to improve strategies for preserving the masterpieces containing this pigment and to develop new methods to monitor their conservation state. “It was already known that emerald green decays over time, but we wanted to understand exactly the role of light and humidity in this degradation”, explains Letizia Monico, senior researcher at the SCITEC-CNR, corresponding and first author of the publication, together with Sara Carboni Marri, a former PhD student from the same research group.

Image: Photograph of The Intrigue (1890, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, KMSKA) by James Ensor

Credit: Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, KMSKA

Nanoscale X-ray imaging shows photodynamic therapy boosts chemotherapy in pancreatic cancer

2025/11/102025/11/19

Pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest malignancies, with 1-year survival below 20%. Because diagnosis is often late, many patients cannot undergo surgery and rely on palliative chemotherapy. Regimens such as FOLFIRINOX can extend survival to around 11 months, but toxicity limits their use, creating a need for combinations that are more effective and better tolerated.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) uses photosensitisers that accumulate in tumours and, upon local light activation, generate reactive oxygen species (ROS) that kill tumour cells while sparing surrounding tissues. Fibres for light delivery can be placed endoscopically, making PDT clinically feasible for pancreatic lesions.

Preclinical investigations demonstrated that combining PDT with oxaliplatin was beneficial, but the underlying mechanisms were unclear. Owing to its hydrophilic nature, oxaliplatin is likely internalised via endocytosis and sequestered within lysosomes – the cell’s garbage disposal system – restricting its bioavailability. It was therefore hypothesised that PDT could permeabilise lysosomal membranes and release endocytosed oxaliplatin into the cytosol (the aqueous component of the cytoplasm), increasing its effectiveness.

Image: Subsequent administration of oxaliplatin leads to similar endosomal uptake, but the endosomes then fuse with the permeable lysosomes. This results in increased intracellular platinum levels (although sequestration by ATP7B copper chelating proteins or efflux via multidrug resistance protein 1 (MDR1) may occur).

Alexandra Pacureanu gets Wellcome Discovery Award in collaboration with the Francis Crick Institute

2025/10/272025/10/30

ESRF scientist Alexandra Pacureanu is the recipient of the Wellcome Discovery Award, together with a team at the Francis Crick Institute, to develop X-ray nanoimaging technology to study the mechanisms of information processing in the neural circuits of olfaction.

The grant, worth £3.9 million shared between the two institutions, will support computational research in X-ray nanotomography and coherent X-ray imaging, sample preparation and data analysis developments, and the study of how neural circuits transform sensory information in the mouse olfactory system.

The team will aim to accurately link neuronal activity with comprehensive cell connectivity, and to uncover how smells are represented in the brain and how the olfactory bulb transforms the sensory signals.

The project has two overarching aims: to develop X-ray nanoimaging technology for connectomics (ESRF leadership) and to apply the technology to uncover the neural circuit mechanisms of odour representation (Francis Crick Institute leadership). Alexandra Pacureanu is leading the ESRF team and Andreas Schaefer is leading the Francis Crick Institute team.

Synchrotron science uncovers the origins of lizards

2025/09/112025/09/25

A tiny fossil from Devon has shed new light on the origins of lizards, thanks to advanced synchrotron imaging carried out at Diamond Light Source and the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF).

Researchers from the University of Bristol have identified the fossil as the oldest known member of the lizard lineage, dating back 242 million years to the Middle Triassic, just before the rise of the dinosaurs. Their findings, published in Nature, reveal unexpected details about the early evolution of lizards, snakes, and their relative, the tuatara, a group collectively known as the Lepidosauria.

Lepidosaurs are today the most successful group of land vertebrates, with more than 12,000 living species. Scientists long assumed their earliest ancestors would share key features of modern lizards and snakes, such as hinged skulls and palatal teeth. However, the new fossil challenges those assumptions.

“The new fossil shows almost none of what we expected,” said Dan Marke, who led the project as part of his studies for the MSc in Palaeobiology at Bristol. “It has no teeth on the palate, and no sign of any hinging. It does though have the open temporal bar, so one out of three. Not only this but it possesses some spectacularly large teeth compared to its closest relatives.”

Professor Genoveva Burca, Principal Beamline Scientist of I12-JEEP, said: “We are pleased to contribute to the scientific understanding of this sample. The unique capabilities of the the beamline, including its large beam size and high energy, combined with our expertise in advanced imaging methods, underscore the crucial role that synchrotron light sources like Diamond play in advancing palaeontological research.”

Because the specimen’s skull measures only 1.5 cm, traditional CT scans could not resolve the fine details. To overcome this, the team turned to high-energy synchrotron X-ray imaging. Using two powerful beamlines, I12 at Diamond Light Source and one at ESRF, the researchers were able to produce exceptionally detailed 3D models of the skull without damaging the delicate fossil.

One of I12’s scientists, and co-author of the paper, Alexander Liptak, explained: “I12 was the only beamline at Diamond suitable for this experiment. The study required a large beam size and high beam energy to accommodate both the fossil’s dimensions and attenuation, as well as the necessary contrasting medium introduced to account for the fossil’s high aspect ratio. Furthermore, the high photon flux available at I12 enabled us to virtually ‘inspect the sample’ by performing rapid exploratory XCT acquisitions and partial reconstructions, which were used to directly inform the necessary positioning and resolution requirements for subsequent scans.”

Digging into the origin of lizards

2025/09/102025/09/11

A new fossil from Devon reveals what the oldest members of the lizard group looked like, and there are some surprises, according to a research team from the University of Bristol. The team teamed up with the ESRF to shed light on this exceptional 242-million-year-old fossil. The study is published in Nature.

Today, lizards and their relatives, such as snakes, together with the unique tuatara from New Zealand, are the most successful group of land vertebrates, with over 12,000 species – more than birds and more than mammals. But what is it about lizards, snakes and the tuatara, called collectively the Lepidosauria, that has made them so successful?

Surprising insights into lizard origins

It was always expected that the first lepidosaurs would have had some of the lizard characters such as a partially hinged skull, an open lower temporal bar, and abundant teeth on the roof of the mouth (palate). These are all features of modern lizards and snakes that enable them to manipulate large prey by opening their mouths super-wide (skull hinge) and use teeth on the palate to grasp wriggling small prey animals.

The lower temporal bar is essentially the cheek bone, a bony rod that runs between the cheek and the jaw hinge and is absent in lizards and snakes today. Snakes and many lizards have all these features, as well as some additional flexibility of the skull. Only the tuatara has a complete lower temporal bar, giving it an archaic look reminiscent of some of the earliest and ancestral reptiles; and it also has some large palatal teeth.

“The new fossil shows almost none of what we expected,” said Dan Marke, Master student in Palaeobiology at Bristol. “It has no teeth on the palate, and no sign of any hinging. It does, though, have the open temporal bar, so one out of three. Not only this, but it possesses some spectacularly large teeth compared to its closest relatives.”

Unlocking fossil secrets with synchrotron X-rays

“In modern palaeontological studies we often X-ray scan the fossils,” added Dr David Whiteside, from the University of Bristol. “But the exceptional resolution and quality of scans from synchrotron X-ray sources show us all the fine details and save any risk of damage.”

To study this tiny fossil from the Middle Triassic, the team came to the European Synchrotron (ESRF), to the new beamline BM18 dedicated to high sensitivity phase-contrast tomography in large and complex samples, where they teamed up with Vincent Fernandez, paleontologist at the ESRF. “This fossil is a good example of what makes a beamline like ESRF’s BM18 shine: the specimen itself is only a few centimetres in size, embedded in a large piece of rock, and it requires high-energy phase-contrast imaging — the flagship technique of BM18.” says Fernandez.

“When you look at the fossil, the whole skeleton sits in the palm of your hand,” explained Michael Benton, Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology in the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Bristol. “But after the scans and the hard work of our students cleaning up the scan data, we can see the most amazing detail. The new beast has relatively large triangular-shaped teeth and probably used these to pierce and shear the hard cuticles of its insect prey, pretty much as the tuatara does today.”

“The new animal is unlike anything yet discovered and has made us all think again about the evolution of the lizard, snakes and the tuatara,” said Dan Marke. “We had to give it a name to distinguish it from everything else, and we chose Agriodontosaurus helsbypetrae, quite a mouthful, meaning ‘fierce toothed lizard from the Helsby rock”, after the Helsby Sandstone Formation in which it was discovered.