According to a study from 2009, these early tetrapods would have resembled crocodiles, lizards, eels and snakes. When researchers examined the fossil under a microscope, they found epidermal tissues that are commonly found in the skin of amniotes - a terrestrial vertebrate group consisting of reptiles, birds and mammals that evolved from amphibian ancestors during the Carboniferous period.Īt the time this creature lived, dinosaurs were yet to emerge and animals consisted of four-legged vertebrates which were fish-like in appearance. Although skin and soft tissues are rarely fossilized, researchers say the cave system’s complex composition of fine clay sediments combined with oil seepage in an oxygenless environment likely slowed decomposition and preserved the sample. The tiny fingernail-size skin fossil was found preserved in clay sediments in Richards Spur limestone cave system in Oklahoma, along with other specimens. (Image credit: Current Biology Mooney et al) Fossilized skin from the 290 million-year-old creature.
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