•1 min read•from Oceanography News -- ScienceDaily
Lost fossils reveal sea monsters that took over after Earth’s greatest extinction
Our take
A recently uncovered collection of 250-million-year-old fossils from Australia has significantly altered our understanding of life following Earth's most catastrophic mass extinction. Rather than a singular marine amphibian species dominating the seas, researchers have revealed a vibrant and diverse community of early ocean predators. Among these newly identified creatures, one lineage boasted relatives that spanned from the Arctic to Madagascar, indicating that some of the earliest sea-going tetrapods dispersed across the planet with remarkable speed.
A lost cache of 250-million-year-old fossils from Australia has rewritten part of the story of life after Earth’s worst mass extinction. Instead of a single marine amphibian species, researchers uncovered evidence of a surprisingly diverse community of early ocean predators. One of these creatures had relatives stretching from the Arctic to Madagascar, showing that some of the first sea-going tetrapods spread across the globe with remarkable speed.
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