Ancient lizard-like species discovered in Australia

Scientists person identified a caller taxon of amphibian that occupied Australia immoderate 247 cardinal years ago.

The uncovering ends a enigma that has captivated researchers since the 90s, erstwhile the creature's fossilised remains were recovered by a retired chickenhearted husbandman successful New South Wales.

Less than 10 fossils of the lizard-like taxon person been identified globally.

Experts accidental the find whitethorn "rewrite the improvement of amphibians successful Australia".

It was a breached plot partition astatine his location successful Umina - a astir 90-minute thrust northbound of Sydney - that led to Mihail Mihaildis's find of the bonzer fossil, astir 3 decades ago.

The retired chickenhearted husbandman had purchased a 1.6 tonne sandstone slab to hole the problem. But arsenic helium sliced done the stone's outer layers, the immortalised outline of an chartless carnal revealed itself.

Mr Mihaildis contacted the Australian Museum successful Sydney astir his discovery, and successful 1997 helium handed the fossil over.

It was determination successful a climate-controlled show country that Lachlan Hart - the palaeontologist who would yet decode its petrified remains - archetypal encountered it arsenic a child.

"I was obsessed with dinosaurs... and truthful 12-year-old maine saw that fossil connected show backmost successful 1997. And past 25 years aboriginal it became portion of my PhD, which is insane," Mr Hart says.

Mr Hart says it was "dumb luck" that led to his team, which was studying beingness successful Australia's Triassic epoch immoderate 250 cardinal years ago, being fixed the fossil to identify.

Remarkably, the mould contains a "nearly implicit skeleton", which is astir unheard of, Mr Hart explains.

"It's got the caput and the assemblage attached, and the fossilisation of the creature's tegument and fatty tissues astir the extracurricular of its assemblage - each of that makes this a truly uncommon find."

From that data, Mr Hart and his colleagues estimation the amphibian was astir 1.5m successful magnitude and that it had a salamander-shaped body. The recently identified taxon has been named Arenaepeton supinatus, which means "sand creeper connected its back" successful Latin.

Scientists accidental the carnivorous amphibian erstwhile lived successful the freshwater lakes and streams of Sydney. This peculiar taxon belongs to the Temnospondyli family: resilient amphibians that survived 2 of the earth's 5 wide extinction events, including a bid of volcanic eruptions that eradicated 70-80% of each dinosaurs astir 250 cardinal years ago.

Only 3 different fossils capturing the Temnospondyli taxon person been successfully identified successful Australia.

The findings, which were published Tuesday, amusement that "Australia was a large spot for animals to germinate and find refuge aft wide extinctions," Mr Hart says.

The bonzer fossil volition spell connected full-time show astatine the Australian Museum aboriginal this year.