Fossils of 167 million year old salamander were discovered

Scientists found the world's oldest salamander fossils in a quarry in Siberia.

Illustration of ancient salamander underwater.(Photo: Fox News).

Four vertebral fossils of the salamander, including the first vertebrae with the task of supporting the skull, were unearthed at the Berezovsky quarry, Siberia, Fox News today reported. This quarry also preserves traces of many other prehistoric creatures such as dinosaurs, fish, reptiles and mammals.

The newly discovered salamander was named Egoria malashichev , about 20cm long. It can once swim with sea creatures like sharks, sea lizards and giant scorpions.

The team of scientists built 3D images of the bones of a salamander.(Photo: Fox News).

"Based on fossil information, the salamander first appeared in the middle of the Jurassic, including representatives of both today's salamanders and the most primitive," said Pavel Skutschas, the lead author of the study. , a biology professor at St Petersburg University.

"When it first appeared, salamander tried to occupy different positions in the ecosystem. Therefore, the original salamander lived in large waters, while the species close to the salamander today live in Small water bodies. The newly discovered salamander is in the middle position, though morphologically, it is closer to the original species , " Skutschas explained.

The discovery of the first cervical vertebra is extremely important. It allows scientists to identify new species with specific, specific information. They also found several other salamander species at the Berezovsky quarry, including the Urupia monstrosa , about 60 cm long, which lived 165 million years ago.

Egoria malashichev and Urupia monstrosa may belong to the same genus, but the expert team still needs more research."Next spring, our colleagues in the UK will come to St Petersburg to study the samples. Maybe we will find these two salamander species once had very large habitats, spread across Europe and Asia, " said Skutschas.

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