Scientists find fossil species that is ancient forerunner of most modern reptiles

Scientists have unearthed the 231-year-old fossil of a species that is an ancient forerunner of most modern reptiles.

According to the researchers, including those from Harvard University in the US, the fossil, unearthed in Argentina, represents an ancient species that was an ancestor to Lepidosauria – a group that includes all lizards and snakes – and is the largest group of terrestrial vertebrates with approximately 11,000 species.

While the lineages of Lepidosauria are older than dinosaurs, originating and diverging from each other around 260 million years ago, the scientists say the early phase of this group’s evolution, about 260-150 million years ago, has remained a mystery, marked by very fragmented fossils – until now.