The discovery, made public Wednesday, includes well-preserved footprints of reptiles and amphibians that scientists say date back 280 million years.

Summary

Melting snow in the Italian Alps revealed a prehistoric ecosystem from the Permian period, predating dinosaurs by 280 million years.

The discovery, made by hiker Claudia Steffensen in 2023, includes well-preserved footprints of reptiles and amphibians, alongside traces of flora and invertebrates.

Paleontologists describe the find as unprecedented in quality and variety. The fossils, uncovered due to rising temperatures linked to climate change, highlight parallels between ancient environmental shifts and today’s climate crisis.

Researchers expect more discoveries as melting ice and erosion expose additional fossils.

      • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
        4·
        18 days ago

        I will have you know that the world was created by The Great Squid in 7 days approximately 60 million years ago.

        Give me time and I will tell you about how he had a squid gather up all the life in the sea two by two and put them in a big aquarium after the Great Squid punished the wicked by 40 days and 40 nights of no rain.

          • Flying Squid@lemmy.worldMEnglish
            1·
            17 days ago

            7 would have been fine if you land dwellers hadn’t decided that you were allowed to make babies too. No one gave you permission.

        • qyron@sopuli.xyzEnglish
          5·
          17 days ago

          Get dunked.

          The Great Flying Spaghetti Monster created the Universe and all that exists, out of boredom, after indulging into too much beer.

          Findings like these is just the GFSM messing with our colective hubris of knowing-it-all.

          Those “fossils” were placed over night as decor, now that the ice melted.