The straight-shelled nautilus was actually hidden in a patch of seaweed more than a thousand meters away from the fishing boat.
There was no other way. The terrain nearby was open and there was nothing particularly conspicuous that could block the view. If Xiang Yang hid the straight-shelled Nautilus too close to the fishing boat, it would inevitably be discovered.
If you hide too far away, it will arouse others' suspicion. How can you swim so far in such a short time? This is obviously unscientific.
So Xiang Yang deliberately hid the straight-shelled nautilus in a position not too far from the fishing boat, and deliberately stayed on the seabed for a while, dragging it on the seabed for a while.
Professor Chen Yu and others followed behind Xiang Yang, and everyone was swimming quickly.
After a while, Professor Chen Yu was shocked all over. He saw a flash of white. He was shocked at first, then ecstatic. He stopped and trembled.
The people behind him pushed him quickly.
Professor Chen Yu finally came back to his senses. He calmed down and said, "Attention, everyone in the camera crew, remember to record every action of ours from now on. We need to record this precious moment."
The researchers nodded quickly.
Professor Chen Yu stopped talking and made a gesture to move forward.
Talking on the seabed is a very difficult task even with the most advanced diving equipment. It is not only about providing enough oxygen to the diving suit, but also about eliminating the pressure of sea water on the diver's lungs. Even so, the burden on the person speaking is still great.
There is only one set of underwater equipment in Chen Yu's research team that can communicate normally with people on the seabed. It is now used by Chen Yu, mainly to communicate with people on the boat. These people on the seabed don't need to be so troublesome. Professor Chen Yu and his team all understand sign language and sign language.
"It's a straight-shelled nautilus. Oh my God, it's really a straight-shelled nautilus, and it's so well preserved. Oh my God, it's priceless." An old biologist who was standing in front of the electronic display screen on the boat was so excited that he swore. He shouted, "Quick, give me a diving suit. I want to go down myself."
The people around were shocked by the old biologist's words, and they laughed bitterly and said, "Old professor, you can't go down." Are you kidding? The old man is already over 70 years old. If something happens when he dives down, who will be responsible
Professor Chen Yu was also startled and said quickly, "Mr. Peng, you can't come down. Mr. Cai is still in the town doing geological research. I'm on the seabed. If you come down, who will be in charge of the boat?"
The old man gradually calmed down and said, "Okay, Dean Chen Yu, but when you salvage this straight-shelled nautilus, you must be very careful and careful not to damage it in any way."
"Don't worry." Professor Chen Yu only said three words briefly. Mr. Peng is an authority on marine biology in China, and his qualifications and background are indeed impressive, but in this research team, Professor Chen Yu is the leader. Professor Chen Yu respects Mr. Peng, but Professor Chen Yu does not need to make any guarantees to Mr. Peng when doing things. Just replying with three words is enough.
"Be careful, don't damage it." Professor Chen Yu used professional gestures to direct several scientific researchers to salvage it. At the same time, he asked Xiang Yang to go over to help. But Professor Chen Yu did not allow any of Xiang Yang's crew members except Tang Bao to get close to this straight-shelled Nautilus. This kind of professional work can only be done by professionals. Otherwise, if it is damaged a little, it will be a huge loss.
Most people don't have any objections, knowing that this thing is precious and they would be happy if they didn't touch it.
Only Fang Youqun felt somewhat indignant, wondering whether it was Brother Yang who discovered it or Professor Chen Yu. It was bad enough that he was not allowed to touch it, but he was not even allowed to get close to it. This was really too much.
It took a lot of effort for a group of people to drag it onto the boat.
"Is this snail really hundreds of millions of years old? Why does it look to me like it died not long ago?" a biologist asked puzzledly.
Professor Chen Yu also frowned, "This snail shell doesn't look like a fossil?"
Xiang Yang did not say anything. In fact, Xiang Yang had discovered this a long time ago. He guessed that it was because the shell of this straight-shelled nautilus had been inhabited by a giant octopus, but Xiang Yang was not in a position to say it clearly, and this was just Xiang Yang's guess.
Mr. Peng held a magnifying glass and put his eyes almost completely on the straight-shelled nautilus. As he observed, his whole body was shaking with excitement. "Comrades, we must return immediately and send someone to drive the research ship to deliver more professional equipment and personnel."
Xiang Yang looked at Chen Yu.
Chen Yu was also staring at the straight-shelled nautilus. Although his brows were furrowed, after hearing what Mr. Peng said, he not only did not object, but nodded subconsciously.
"Teacher, we are about to see those two humpback whales. Are you sure you want to return now?" Xiang Yang asked Chen Yu.
Chen Yu waved his hand, "There's something wrong with this straight-shelled Nautilus."
"Something's wrong? What's wrong?" Xiang Yang asked puzzledly.
Professor Chen Yu withdrew his gaze from the straight-shelled nautilus and said after a moment's silence, "Scientific research is very rigorous. Before obtaining solid experimental data, all assumptions are just bold guesses. I can't tell outsiders about it because the experimental data is not enough to support what I'm going to say. But this... snail was discovered by you, and you're also my student, so it's okay to tell you."
Xiang Yang quickly said, "Teacher, is it that I can't say it? It's okay, I know the rules, if you can't say it, then don't say it."
At this time, Mr. Peng stood up and shook his head, saying, "It's not that we can't talk about this, but even if we do, we can't be sure of its accuracy, so there's no need to talk about it. But now that you've asked and you're involved in this matter, I'll tell you about it."
"Let me tell you." Chen Yu squatted down and gently stroked the straight-shelled nautilus with his fingertips. "We now preliminarily speculate that this straight-shelled nautilus is not a fossil."
The formation of fossils is a very complex process, a combination of biological, physical and chemical phenomena.
Simply put, over the long geological period, the remains or traces of life of ancient organisms were buried by mud and sand, and the organic matter in the remains was completely decomposed. The hard parts such as shells, bones, branches and leaves were petrified along with the surrounding sediments, but their original shapes and even some subtle internal structures were still preserved.
For a long time, people believed that organisms could become fossils as long as enough time passed, but later research showed that this was a fallacy.