Archaeologists have discovered a 400-million-year-old vertebrate fossil that may be the smallest ever discovered in Queensland.
The new species, discovered in 400-million-year-old limestone in Queensland’s Georgina Basin, is a major discovery. These fossils were preserved in three dimensions, providing an unprecedented picture of the creature’s skeletal structure.
The complex structure of the Australian fossils, which resemble a honeycomb, suggests that Palaeospondylus australis contains important clues about the evolution of early vertebrates.
Although its exact classification remains unclear, researchers believe it retained many larval characteristics and was likely a distant relative of modern sharks, they report Noi.md with reference to .
“The discovery of the enigmatic animal Palaeospondylus in the Early Devonian of Australia indicates the probability of a worldwide distribution of this form, considering that Scotland and eastern Australia were then, as now, on opposite sides of the globe.
This discovery in the study of fossils not only enriches our understanding of ancient Australian ecosystems, but also emphasizes the global connections of early vertebrate life on different continents,” the scientists explained.
