👣 "A woman hiking in the Italian Alps discovered a fragment of a 280 million-year-old ecosystem, complete with footprints, plant fossils and even the imprints of raindrops, researchers have confirmed.
Experts subsequently visited the site multiple times and found evidence of an entire ecosystem dating back to the Permian period (299 million to 252 million years ago). The Permian was characterized by a fast-warming climate and culminated in an extinction event known as the "Great Dying," which wiped out 90% of Earth's species.
Traces of this ecosystem consist of fossilized footprints from reptiles, amphibians, insects and arthropods that often align to form "tracks," according to a translated statement. Alongside these tracks, researchers found ancient traces of seeds, leaves and stems, as well as imprints of raindrops and waves that lapped at the shores of a prehistoric lake. Evidenc
... Show more... 👣 "A woman hiking in the Italian Alps discovered a fragment of a 280 million-year-old ecosystem, complete with footprints, plant fossils and even the imprints of raindrops, researchers have confirmed.
Experts subsequently visited the site multiple times and found evidence of an entire ecosystem dating back to the Permian period (299 million to 252 million years ago). The Permian was characterized by a fast-warming climate and culminated in an extinction event known as the "Great Dying," which wiped out 90% of Earth's species.
Traces of this ecosystem consist of fossilized footprints from reptiles, amphibians, insects and arthropods that often align to form "tracks," according to a translated statement. Alongside these tracks, researchers found ancient traces of seeds, leaves and stems, as well as imprints of raindrops and waves that lapped at the shores of a prehistoric lake. Evidence of this ancient ecosystem was found up to 9,850 feet (3,000 meters) high in the mountains and down in the bottom of valleys, where landslides have deposited fossil-bearing rocks over the eons."
#Fossils #Paleontology #Geology #Science #News
livescience.com/planet-earth/f…
Stunningly preserved fossils of reptilian footprints and underbellies discovered last year in the Italian Alps have helped researchers unearth a tropical lakeside ecosystem that predates dinosaurs.
Sascha Pare (Live Science)
