A significant fossil of an ancient amphibian called Arenaerpeton has been unveiled at the Australian Museum. The fossil, which was first seen 26 years ago, is considered one of the most important finds in New South Wales in the past 30 years. The discovery sheds light on the evolution and size of temnospondyls, a group of animals that lived over 300 million years ago.
The Arenaerpeton is also much larger than other closely related animals that lived at the same time.
“The last of the temnospondyls were in Australia 120 million years after Arenaerpeton, and some grew to massive sizes. The fossil record of temnospondyls spans across two mass extinction events, so perhaps this evolution of increased size aided in their longevity,” Hart said.who is conducting his PhD at the Australian Museum and at the University of New South Wales,
said it was “dumb luck” that he was part of the team tasked with identifying the fossil he first saw 26 years ago. “I was obsessed with dinosaurs … and so 12-year-old me saw that fossil on display back in 1997. And then 25 years later it became part of my PhD, which is insane,” he said.The museum’s curator of paleontology, Dr. Matthew McCurry, called the discovery “a significant find in Australian paleo history.”
“This is one of the most important fossils found in New South Wales in the past 30 years, so it is exciting to formally describe it,” said McCurry, who is a co-author on the study. “It represents a key part of Australia’s fossil heritage.”
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