The World’s Oldest Skin Discovered in an Exceptionally Rare Fossil find.
Scientists have found the oldest skin fossils, which are from a time long before dinosaurs existed. These samples, discovered in a cave in Oklahoma, show that reptile scales have barely changed in 286 million years.
Most fossils in museums are bones because bones take a long time to decompose, giving them more time to fossilize. Soft tissues like skin, muscles, and organs usually decay or get eaten quickly, so they’re rarely found.
However, under the right conditions, soft tissues can be preserved. For example, if something is buried quickly in the right material, you might find a dinosaur tail with feathers preserved in amber, a 133-million-year-old brain preserved in a bog, or a nodosaur with skin and scales that look almost lifelike.
Discovery of Ancient Reptile Skin Sheds Light on Evolutionary History
Scientists at the University of Toronto have discovered the oldest fossilized skin ever found, which is at least 21 million years older than any previously known fossil skin. This sample is between 286 and 289 million years old, predating the earliest dinosaurs by at least 40 million years.
The skin belonged to an early reptile and looks remarkably similar to modern crocodile skin, with a pebbled surface and flexible areas between the scales like snake skin.
Usually, what we know about ancient animal skin comes from imprints left in mud that harden into rock after the skin decays. In this case, the actual skin is preserved in small, three-dimensional fragments, including both the tough outer layer and the rarer inner layer.
Ancient Reptile Skin Discovered in Oklahoma Cave Provides Rare Insight
Fossil hunters Bill and Julie May discovered these fossils in Richards Spur, a limestone cave system in Oklahoma. This location likely played a crucial role in preserving the skin so well for such a long time.
“Animals would have fallen into this cave system during the early Permian and been buried in very fine clay sediments that delayed the decay process,” said Ethan Mooney, the study’s lead author. “Additionally, this cave system was an active oil seepage site during the Permian, and interactions between hydrocarbons in petroleum and tar likely preserved the skin.”
The specimens will be kept at the Royal Ontario Museum, where further studies may provide more insights into ancient animal skin.
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