355-Million-Year-Old Fossil Tracks Push Back Reptile Origins
- Scientists discovered fossil footprints with hooked claws in a sandstone slab near Mansfield, Victoria, dated about 356 million years ago.
- The tracks likely belong to early amniotes, reptiles whose eggs develop inside amniotic fluid, allowing reproduction away from water sources.
- The slab shows clear claw indentations and raindrop impressions, suggesting the animals walked on land soon after the surface was exposed to air.
- John Long said the footprints are a "dead giveaway" of an amniote, pushing back the origin of land-living animals with claws by over 35 million years.
- This find implies amniotes and modern tetrapods evolved sooner than thought, significantly revising the timeline of terrestrial animal evolution.
159 Articles
159 Articles
Fossil Hunters Discover Earliest Known Footprints of a Reptile-Like Creature, Pushing Back the Timeline of Their Evolution
A new study suggests two fossil trackways found in Australia were made by an early amniote, a group that today includes reptiles, birds and mammals
Reptile ancestors appeared 40 million years earlier than we thought
Fossil footprints from the ancient Carboniferous Period have caused a stir among paleontologists worldwide. These tracks suggest reptiles roamed Earth far earlier than anyone suspected. Researchers uncovered reptile-like footprints in northern Victoria, Australia, and matched them to the era that…
This finding questions the time frame of evolution: Two Australian hobby paleontologists found petrified footprints of reptiles. The special thing: they are much older than they thought reptiles were at all. By D. Beck.
Oldest fossil footprints from reptile found in Australia (Sorry, Canada)
Scientists in Australia have identified the oldest known fossil footprints of a reptile-like animal, dated to around 350 million years ago. Previously the earliest known reptile footprints, found in Canada, were dated to 318 million years ago.
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