Ancient Giant Amphibian Unearthed in Retaining Wall
Scientists at the University of New South Wales and the Australian Museum have formally named and described a 240-million-year-old fossil of an amphibian called Arenaerpeton supinatus, which was discovered in a retaining wall in the 1990s. The fossil, which shows nearly the entire skeleton and outlines of its skin, belonged to a group of extinct animals known as temnospondyls and inhabited freshwater rivers in what is now the Sydney Basin during the Triassic period. The discovery of this large amphibian is significant as it sheds light on the evolution and size variation of temnospondyls, and it represents an important part of Australia's fossil heritage.
