Scientists discover 289-million-year-old reptile skin fossil in Oklahoma

Key facts

• Palaeontologists discovered a 289-million-year-old fossilised reptile skin fragment in the Richards Spur cave system in Oklahoma, United States.
• The specimen is identified as the oldest known preserved epidermis, extending the record of preserved skin by more than 130 million years.
• The skin is believed to belong to Captorhinus aguti, an early Permian reptile featuring pebbled, non-overlapping scales similar to those of a crocodile.
• The research, led by Ethan Mooney from the University of Toronto, was published in the journal Current Biology in January 2024.
• The fossil was preserved in remarkable three-dimensional detail due to a unique environment involving fine clay, low oxygen, and Permian oil that mummified the skin.
• Scientists used uranium-lead dating on associated stalagmites to confirm the age of the fossil as being between 286 and 289 million years old.
• The discovery provides critical insights into the evolution of amniotes, including reptiles, birds, and mammals, and their adaptation to terrestrial life.