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A paleontologist has discovered a 230-million-year-old prehistoric amphibian after opening up a rock. The creature displayed a survival strategy considered advanced for its time.
Imagine a world where torrential rains lasted for months, followed by droughts so intense that few animals could survive. This was western Wyoming, some 230 million years ago. A paleontologist has discovered a small amphibian that had developed an ingenious survival strategy, hiding deep in riverbeds to escape the devastating drought.
A paleontologist's chance discovery that revealed a new prehistoric world
In 2014, David Lovelace, a researcher at University of Wisconsin-Madison, was doing his exploration routine through the Popo Agie formation, in Dubois, Wyoming.
Known by locals as “Big Red Dead” due to the scarcity of fossils, the region did not appear promising. However, Lovelace decided to pick up a rock, the size of a football, on her walk back to the car. Something that seemed banal ended up revealing an extraordinary secret.
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A fossilized burrow hides a unique amphibian
In the laboratory, while trying to extract a small fossilized burrow from the rock, Lovelace had a surprise. With a blow of the hammer, the stone broke, revealing the skull of a small animal.
At first glance, it appeared to be a reptile, but details such as the tiny teeth and evidence of a sensory organ used by aquatic amphibians indicated something different.
After CT scans conducted in collaboration with the Field Museum in Chicago, a partial skeleton was identified in another burrow at the same site. The team realized they were dealing with a remarkable specimen.
Hannah Miller
Survival Strategy: Digging for Life
Researchers believe the amphibian, about 30 centimeters long, belonged to the group temnospondyls, primitive creatures that lived at the time of the dinosaurs.
It used its shell-shaped head to dig into the mud and create refuges where it could reduce its metabolic rate, a practice known as aestivation.
This ability allowed the creature to survive during the severe droughts that occurred between monsoon seasons.
Cal So, a researcher at the Field Museum and lead author of the study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, explained:
"These animals would bury themselves at the bottom of rivers to seek moisture and protect themselves during the dry season. However, in some cases, the river would change course, leaving them trapped in the ground and eventually leading to their death."
Ninumbeehan digging a burrow under a river, crouching down during the dry season, and reemerging.
© Gabriel N. Ugueto
A place rich in hidden history
After the initial discovery, Lovelace returned to Popo Agie to study the local geology and search for more clues about the prehistoric amphibian. To his surprise, fossilized burrows were everywhere.
"We couldn't miss them; the place was ridiculously full of burrows.,” he said in a statement.
Although the team has not yet discovered a complete skeleton, the burrows reveal a fascinating story about how amphibians faced the challenges of the Late Triassic.
These traces show that even under adverse conditions, life has found ingenious ways to persist.
Despite their innovative survival strategy, the individuals discovered in the Popo Agie formation were unlucky. The river's course changed, and the waters never returned to reach them.
They were trapped in the ground, where their fossilized burrows had remained untouched for millions of years, waiting to tell their story.
I love science. Science is from God. But talking about this **** as 230 million years old and still describing what the environment and habitat were like at that time is too much. We don't know how to tell a story of 2000 years, let alone 230 million years.
The word was edited and has no derogatory meaning.
Unprecedented and very good discovery helps to understand evolution on Earth!