A 410-million-year-old fossil of an armored fish has completely changed the history of sharks, according to a newly published study.

The fish, known as Minjinia turgenensis, had a skeleton made of bone, as opposed to the cartilage that sharks are largely comprised of now, save for their teeth. Experts discovered the fossilized skull in the Mongolian mountains.

“It was a very unexpected discovery," the study's lead author, Martin Brazeau, said in a statement. "Conventional wisdom says that a bony inner skeleton was a unique innovation of the lineage that split from the ancestor of sharks more than 400 million years ago, but here is clear evidence of bony inner skeleton in a cousin of both sharks and, ultimately, us.”

It's possible that M. turgenensis could have been larger than great whites, with some members of the placoderm (jawed fish) species reaching 30 feet or more in length. Brazeau also noted it was likely a predator.

Although M. turgenensis is believed to have been significantly smaller than modern-day whale sharks or great whites at approximately 1 foot long, it has made an enormous impact, suggesting that sharks once had bone and then lost it, researchers said.

In addition to having a skeleton comprised of bone, it had bony plates over its head and shoulders that acted as shields, with Brazeau describing it as "extensive armor" as it swam the ancient seas.

The discovery adds further credence to the theory that endochondral bone – which makes up human skeletons after birth – may have played a huge role in shark evolution and helped them exist and adapt for more than 400 million years.

“If sharks had bony skeletons and lost it, it could be an evolutionary adaptation," Brazeau added. "Sharks don’t have swim bladders, which evolved later in bony fish, but a lighter skeleton would have helped them be more mobile in the water and swim at different depths.

“This may be what helped sharks to be one of the first global fish species, spreading out into oceans around the world 400 million years ago," Brazeau explained.

The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

Students of the Government Science College

Kagara, Niger State released last Saturday have

revealed secrets gained from their short stay in

bandits net

The students say the bandits claimed their

operations were always successful because of

collaboration with informants in any area targeted

for attack.

The students say the bandits claimed there was no

way they could succeed in their attacks without the

help of informants.

Suleiman Lawan speaking on behalf of the students,

on Sunday during a brief ceremony to reunite them

with their families, said the bandits claimed they

continue to thrive in their business because of

insiders willing to offer information.

According to him, during the 10 days of captivity in

the den of the kidnappers, who are mostly

illiterates, the bandits claimed that their informants

even kept them abreast of reactions trailing each

kidnap.

“They said, how can they successfully carry out

their kidnaps without insiders. They said they don’t

work alone but with informants within the

environment, they attack. That even as we were

with them, they have information from different

persons of reactions to our kidnap including security

personnel and other members of the society.”

“During the attack on our school, some of our

teachers and our students lost their Laptops,

motorcycles, handsets among others to the bandits.

But, we all thank God, we came back all alive,” Lawan

stated.

He, however, called on the bandits to have a change

of heart and drop the kidnap of innocent people and

return to their former trade, while thanking the

state for rescuing them from their abductors.

Also, one of the staff of the College abducted

alongside the students, Mohammed Musa Abubakar

said the kind of suffering they underwent at the

hands of bandits was unimaginable.

“What we went through, I don’t wish it for my worst

enemy, we went through a terrible experience that I

can never forget in life.”

He then thanked the state Governor, Sani Bello for

ensuring their safe return to their families.

Tuface Idibia has asked why Africans look down on those who speak English with an African accent and see as superior those who have an accent from the Western countries.

He tweeted: â€œWhy do we as Africans laugh or look down at us that can’t speak English proper or don’t have the accent?