355 million effects of their life only rewriting the history of reptiles

It was believed that the origin of the four extended animals known as the quadruple and somewhat is somewhat clear: the fish turned on the ground in Devonian, developed, and eventually diversified in reptiles, birds, mammals and other creatures that cover the earth today. But now, she threw a small sandstone painting enough for one person to carry this timeline arranged in chaos.

The slab is in southeastern Australia and dated about 355 million years, shortly after the end of Devonian. It was discovered by the rock of two amateur excavation scientists (the authors participating for a new study describing the discovery), maintaining a set of wonderful feet: prints for a long time with unambiguous claw signs. These trace fossils now represent the oldest claw tetrapod paths at all.

“The main effect is that it pushes an important part of the evolutionary TetraPOD tree-in essence, all branches that explode from the division of reptile mammals (also known as the Amniote Crown Code)-at the appropriate time,” said a researcher in the Ahlberg, a researcher at the University of Obpsala and the main author of the study, in an email to Gizmodo.

Ahlburg explained that although scientists agree to the development of quadruple in Devonian, it was believed that these early creatures resemble fish, as they only began to adapt to life on Earth. Researchers Published Natural study today describes excavations and their importance to the tree of life.

“If we already have reptiles at the beginning of The Carboniferous, which Australian paths indicate, this cannot be true.”

“When I saw this sample for the first time, I was very surprised.” “After a few seconds, I noticed that the signs of a clutch were clearly preserved.”

The claws are great. It is a signature of early irrigation – the group that includes reptiles, birds and mammals. Other tetrapods, such as early amphibians or the so -called “Fishapods” like TiktaalikThey did not have. This means that the creature that made the fossilized paths likely to be primitive reptiles – and was wandering much early in what anyone expected.

“It collides face to face with the prosecution, which is often repeated Tiktaalik And Ahburg said: “Viaspods” was not only similarly linked to Tetrapods (which she was), but the actual or even its predecessors. ” Tiktaalik It was more or less contemporary with Tetrapod Crown-Group! “

In other words, the appearance of reptiles – the extension, the evolutionary branch that leads to humanity – is pushed back 35 million years. The team’s conclusions also mean that the division between security and amphibians should have occurred even before.

By combining DNA-based family trees with fossil dates, the team found that the crown group knot is likely to return to Devonian-contemporary with Tiktaalik. This indicates that advanced Tetrapods was already on the scene Tiktaalik He was discovering how to support itself.

Currently, the fossil plate printed in the claw represents the “entire fossil record of Tetrapods from the oldest carbon from Gondwana – a huge continent that includes Africa, South America, Southern Warbout, Australia and India,” said Ahlburg in the version of Oppsala. “Who knows what he lived there?”

The team now is more field work – in Australia and anywhere else – which can result in more clues about the early superstar that occupied Gondwana. Ahlburg said that more of its feet will be good, but the physical fossils will be better.