PhD Student’s Stunning Fossil Puzzle Unlocks Mystery of a Lost Prehistoric Reptile Species
Beccari and his fellow scientists, who published their findings in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, believe the new species, Sphenodraco scandentis, is the earliest tree-living rhynchocephalian ever discovered.
The Exceptional Fossils Of Germany’s Solnhofen Limestone Area
Victor BeccariThe reptile’s long finger bones suggests it climbed trees.
Beccari and his team scanned and analyzed the fossilized remains of the new species to determine more about its appearance and lifestyle.
Their analysis concluded that S. scandentis had a short body of about six inches with long limbs and long finger bones. Based on its similarities to other reptile species, it’s likely that the animal spent most of its time in trees.
Gabriel UguetoThis six-inch creature lived alongside the dinosaurs during the Jurassic Period roughly 145 million years ago.
A big reason for why scientists were able to ascertain this much information from the fossil is thanks to where it was discovered. It was found in Germany in an area known as Solnhofen Limestone. Many different fossils dating back to the Late Jurassic period have been found here.
“Solnhofen fossils are famous for their exceptional preservation,” Beccari explained. “We know that all the sediment is marine, and so it seems that animals living around these islands ended up being swept out into some oxygen-poor areas when they died.”
This meant that the animals’ bodies were kept safe from predators, so they decomposed with their soft tissue intact, creating a better-preserved fossil.
Post Comment