Researchers have unearthed a giant basal tetrapod fossil in Namibia, revealing new aspects of early land animal evolution and highlighting the importance of southern continents in the study of these ancient species.
An international team of paleontologists has discovered a fossilized giant basal tetrapod in Namibia. Basal tetrapods, early four-legged vertebrates with fingers and toes, lived around 280 million years ago during the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life. These ancient carnivores are among the earliest ancestors of all modern animals. The nearly complete 3-meter-long skeleton, discovered in the Ugab River valley in Damaraland, belongs to a new species named Gaiasia jennyae.
This groundbreaking finding challenges the previous assumption that early tetrapods were only found in the northern hemisphere and offers new insights into the evolution of life on Earth. The discovery also highlights the importance of southern continents in understanding the history of life on our planet.
The team’s research, published in Nature, shows that early tetrapods were well-established in the cold-temperate regions of Gondwana as early as the Carboniferous-Permian transition. This challenges previous beliefs about early tetrapod distribution and evolution, which were mostly based on fossils from the northern hemisphere.
The new findings suggest that early tetrapods played a key role in shaping the Earth’s ecosystems during this period. The team’s discovery provides a unique window into the early history of life on our planet and sheds light on the complex and dynamic processes that have shaped the evolution of life on Earth.
Source: https://scitechdaily.com/giant-fossil-discovery-in-namibia-challenges-long-held-evolutionary-theories/