Fossils in China indicate an ancient amphibian lived in seawater
Researchers reported that two 237-million-year-old fossils from what is now southwest China indicate a temnospondyl amphibian lived in a Late Triassic sea.
The fossils, found in present-day Guizhou province, were assigned provisionally to Gerrothorax maritimus in research reported by Nature. The animals had flattened, heavily armoured bodies.
The researchers said the fossils' setting and strontium measurements support the conclusion that the amphibians lived in seawater rather than being carried there after death.