"Discovery of 290-Million-Year-Old Reptile Skin Resembles Modern Crocodiles"
Paleontologists from the University of Toronto Mississauga have discovered the oldest known fossilized reptile skin in a cave in Oklahoma, estimated to be at least 286 million years old. The well-preserved skin fossil, resembling that of modern crocodiles, provides insight into a distant evolutionary past and is the oldest amniote skin ever found, offering valuable information about a key moment in animal biology. The finding was made possible by the unique preservation conditions in the Richards Spur cave system, which contains diverse and well-preserved fossils from the Paleozoic era.