Reptiles were first animals to conquer dry land
August 1st, 2010 - 10:41 am ICT by IANSLondon, Aug 1 (IANS) Ancient footprints made by reptiles 318 million years ago prove they were the first animals to conquer dry land, a media report has said.
The fossilised reptile footprints were found in sea-cliffs on the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada by Howard Falcon-Lang of Royal Holloway, University of London, Daily Mail reported on its website Friday.
Experts say the find is proof that reptiles were the first vertebrates to conquer dry land.
The discovery proves the theory that reptiles were the first to make the continental interiors their home. This is because reptiles do not need to return to water to breed unlike their amphibian cousins.
The rocks in which they occur show that the reptiles lived on dry river plains hundreds of miles from the sea. These pioneers then paved the way for the diverse ecosystems that exist on land today, the study showed
The study, undertaken with professor Mike Benton of the University of Bristol and Canadian colleagues, was published in journal Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology.
Benton said: “The footprints date from the Carboniferous Period when a single supercontinent (Pangaea) dominated the world.
“At first life was restricted to coastal swamps where lush rainforest existed, full of giant ferns and dragonflies.
“However, when reptiles came on the scene they pushed back the frontiers, conquering the dry continental interiors.”
The same team reported the oldest known reptile footprints from a different site in New Brunswick in 2007. The new discovery is of similar age, and may be even older.
Falcon-Lang added: “The Bay of Fundy is such an amazing place to hunt for fossils.
“The sea-cliffs are rapidly eroding and each rock-fall reveals exciting new fossils. You just never know what will turn up next.”
- Reptiles first conquered dry land 318 million years ago - Jul 30, 2010
- Global warming 300mn years ago 'triggered the arrival of the dinos' - Nov 30, 2010
- Global warming hastened arrival of dinosaurs - Nov 30, 2010
- Pterosaurs were 10 times heavier than biggest birds: Study - Jan 19, 2011
- Earliest evidence of existence of reptiles unearthed in Canada - Nov 14, 2007
- Darwin's lost fossils collection found in Britain - Jan 17, 2012
- Prehistoric island 'Jurassic Parkette' ruled by dwarf dinosaurs found - Feb 21, 2010
- Weaning infants late led to woolly mammoth's end? - Dec 22, 2010
- Delayed, longer weaning 'could have led to woolly mammoths' extinction' - Dec 22, 2010
- Fossil site in China offers clues to mass extinction recovery - Dec 23, 2010
- Massive volcanic eruptions wiped out life on sea, land - Jan 24, 2011
- Study shows extinction's ripple effect through the animal kingdom - Mar 08, 2011
- Ancient animal urine offers insight into climate change - Oct 13, 2010
- 89mn-yr-old flying reptile fossils could be 'world's oldest Pteranodon' - Mar 02, 2011
- Israel using saltwater, sewage to grow trees in desert - Nov 25, 2011
Tags: amazing place, ancient footprints, bay of fundy, bay of fundy new brunswick, canadian colleagues, carboniferous period, coastal swamps, continental interiors, fossilised, giant ferns, london daily mail, new brunswick canada, new discovery, palaeogeography palaeoclimatology palaeoecology, professor mike, royal holloway university, royal holloway university of london, sea cliffs, supercontinent, university of bristol