New Discovery is Rewriting The History of Evolution

Scientists in Australia have unearthed the oldest known fossil footprints of a reptile-like creature, pushing back the timeline of terrestrial life by millions of years.

Credit: Professor Per Ahlberg

The prints, dating back approximately 350 million years, suggest animals transitioned from aquatic to fully terrestrial life far more rapidly than previously believed. This discovery surpasses, by around 30 million years, the prior record held by footprints found in Canada.

The emergence of the first land-dwelling animals is estimated to have occurred around 400 million years ago. This new evidence significantly shortens the assumed timeframe for the development of fully terrestrial locomotion in vertebrates.

The ancient footprints from Australia were found on a slab of sandstone and show reptile-like feet with long toes and hooked claws. The hooked claws are a crucial identification clue, said study co-author and paleontologist Per Ahlberg at Uppsala University in Sweden. “It’s a walking animal,” he said. Only animals that evolved to live solely on land ever developed claws and these fossil footprints are the earliest evidence of an animal with claws.

The earliest vertebrates - fish and amphibians - never developed hard nails and remained dependent on watery environments to lay eggs and reproduce.

At the time the ancient reptile lived, the region was hot and steamy and vast forests began to cover the planet. Australia was part of the supercontinent Gondwana. Scientists estimate the animal was about 2 1/2 feet (80 cm) long and may have resembled a modern monitor lizard. The findings were published in Nature.

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