Image of the Day: Fossilized Motion

A fossil of a school of fish from the Eocene appears to represent coordinated collective movement.

Written byChia-Yi Hou
| 1 min read
fossil fossilized fish school coordinated collective behavior movement motion

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

Paleontologists report fossil evidence of coordinated collective motion in a fossilized school of fish of the species Erismatopterus levatus in a study published today (May 29) in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The fish lived in the Eocene, about 34–55 million years ago, and seem to follow the rules of not swimming too close to their neighbors or too far away from the pack.

N. Mizumoto et al., “Inferring collective behaviour from a fossilized fish shoal,” P R SOC B, doi:10.1098/rspb.2019.0891, 2019.

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here
February 2026

A Stubborn Gene, a Failed Experiment, and a New Path

When experiments refuse to cooperate, you try again and again. For Rafael Najmanovich, the setbacks ultimately pushed him in a new direction.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Pioneers Life Sciences Innovation with High-Quality Bioreagents on Inside Business Today with Bill and Guiliana Rancic

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological Expands Research Reagent Portfolio to Support Global Nipah Virus Vaccine and Diagnostic Development

Beckman Coulter

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences Partners with Automata to Accelerate AI-Ready Laboratory Automation

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies