Ancient Reptile Tracks in Australia Push Back Evolution Timeline by 35 Million Years
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📰 The quick summary: Scientists discovered 355-million-year-old reptile footprints in Australia that push back the origin of amniotes by at least 35 million years, transforming our understanding of when and where modern land animals evolved.
📈 One key stat: The newly discovered reptile tracks date between 359-350 million years old, extending the timeline of amniote evolution by 35 million years and suggesting modern tetrapod lineages split much earlier than previously thought.
💬 One key quote: “This fossil trackway whispers that we have been looking for the origin of modern tetrapods in the wrong time, and perhaps the wrong place.”
1️⃣ The big picture: Scientists have discovered ancient fossil footprints in Australia that dramatically change our understanding of tetrapod evolution. The 355-million-year-old tracks show clear claw marks, identifying them as belonging to early reptiles or amniotes. This finding pushes back the origin of amniotes—the group that includes all reptiles, birds, and mammals—by at least 35 million years. Previously, scientists believed the split between amphibians and amniotes occurred around 355 million years ago, with the earliest known reptile fossils dating to about 318 million years ago.
2️⃣ Why is this good news: This discovery opens exciting new possibilities for understanding where and when our own distant ancestors evolved. The location of the fossils in Australia (part of ancient Gondwana) challenges the northern hemisphere-centric view of tetrapod evolution, suggesting modern land animals might have first evolved in the southern supercontinent. The fossil’s age implies the last common ancestor of amphibians and amniotes must have lived much earlier than previously thought—potentially as far back as 380 million years ago. By revealing these gaps in our knowledge, the discovery motivates renewed efforts to search for fossils in underexplored regions of the former Gondwana landmass.
3️⃣ What’s next: Scientists now need to conduct more fieldwork across the regions of the former Gondwana supercontinent to find additional fossil evidence. Researchers will likely reexamine existing collections and search new areas in Australia, Africa, South America, and other southern lands. This discovery highlights the need to fill enormous gaps in the fossil record from these regions to better understand early tetrapod evolution.
Read the full story here: Science Alert – Scientists Discover Oldest Reptile Tracks, Rewriting Evolution Timeline
