Age isn't the only thing special about this fossil found in a tree trunk in Cape Breton
Brian Hebert has long wandered the beaches of Nova Scotia, searching for fossils, but it wasn’t until he looked in the roots of a tree trunk in Cape Breton that he struck gold.
What he had found was the intertwined, fossilized remains of two reptiles. Frozen in time, the smaller reptile is positioned under the hind leg of the larger reptile, indicating the two were sharing the same den, according to researchers.. It describes the discovery of a large and small lizard-like reptile known as a varanopid synapsid.
“We knew right away we were looking at probably a new animal, a new species," said Hillary Maddin, the lead researcher and a professor at Carleton University.“The adult animal appears to be concealing and protecting a juvenile in a den,” Maddin saidThe fossils predate what was previously thought to be the earliest such discovery by 40 million years and could help to explain the evolution of parenting, according to the researchers.
“This discovery shows that Nova Scotia still has plenty of amazing secrets to be discovered in its fossil record,” he said.
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