A 246 million-year-old reptile fossil found in New Zealand has been identified as the oldest marine reptile fossil discovered in the Southern Hemisphere, according to a Swedish museum. The fossil belongs to a nothosaur, a type of Sauropterygian, an extinct aquatic reptile that lived during the Triassic period when dinosaurs first emerged. This discovery sheds new light on the record of early sea reptiles from the Southern Hemisphere.
Nothosaurs were predecessors of Plesiosaurs and could grow up to 23 feet in length. They swam with four limbs and had conical teeth for catching fish and squid. The fossil was excavated from a boulder in a stream bed at the foot of Mount Harper on the South Island of New Zealand and was first found during a geological survey in 1978. The importance of this discovery was later realized when a team of paleontologists from various countries examined and analyzed the vertebra and other associated fossils.
Dr. Benjamin Kear, a paleontologist from Uppsala University and the lead author of the study, stated that the nothosaur fossil is over 40 million years older than any other sauropterygian fossil found in the Southern Hemisphere. This finding challenges the existing understanding of how nothosaurs migrated across the globe. The research suggests that nothosaurs originated near the equator and then spread northwards and southwards as marine ecosystems recovered after the mass extinction that marked the beginning of the Age of Dinosaurs.
During the dawn of the age of dinosaurs, extreme global warming allowed these marine reptiles to thrive even at the South Pole, indicating that the ancient polar regions served as a likely route for their earliest global migrations. This discovery opens up the possibility of finding more fossil remains of ancient sea creatures in New Zealand and other parts of the Southern Hemisphere. The study provides valuable insights into the evolution and migration patterns of marine reptiles during the Triassic period.
Overall, the identification of the oldest marine reptile fossil in the Southern Hemisphere offers a unique glimpse into the ancient history of sea creatures and their adaptations to changing environmental conditions. The collaboration between international researchers highlights the importance of sharing expertise and resources to uncover new information about prehistoric life on Earth. As ongoing research continues to reveal more about the evolution of marine reptiles, we can expect further discoveries that will deepen our understanding of the ancient oceans and the creatures that inhabited them.