![](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2023/02/10/75200866dbb24d9d8734dbeafa6de4c4.jpg)
Photo released on Feb. 8, 2023 shows a fossilized skull of an early ray-finned fish that swam in an estuary 319 million years ago. (Photo/ICphoto)
The CT-scanned skull of the 319-million-year-old fossilized fish, pulled from a coal mine in England more than a century ago, has revealed the oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain.
![](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2023/02/10/3c398211ee264029b1260e9a38cb10c5.jpg)
Photo released on Feb. 8, 2023 shows the fossilized brain and associated structures of a 319-million-year-old fossilized fish. The brain and cranial nerves appear bright white in the center of the images. (Photo/ICphoto)
![](http://www.ecns.cn/hd/2023/02/10/f744f205b4c6485bbdd206e25ee5a86b.jpg)
Photo released on Feb. 8, 2023 shows the artist's interpretation of a remarkable 319-million-year-old fish that preserves the earliest fossilized brain of a backboned animal. (Photo/ICphoto)