Science, Space and Technology News 2024
Artist/illustrator Gabriel Lio’s reconstruction of Gaiasia jennyae, the new stem tetrapod from Namibia, and an apex predator of the wetland areas of southern Gondwana approximately 280 million years ago. Credit: Gabriel Lio
While conducting fieldwork in Namibia, the researchers spotted something exciting. “The nearly complete skeleton was preserved in mudstone from an ancient freshwater lake. As the soft tissue decomposed, gases formed that caused calcium carbonate to crystallise around the bones, creating a hard crust that protected them from being crushed as they were buried deeper,” explains Prof.
Collecting the fossil took some time. “The skeleton had already weathered out of the rock, so there was no need for excavation, but the whole team spent hours searching for fragments that had fallen off the skull block and moved downslope,” says Mtungata. The skeleton was then taken to the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town to be painstakingly prepared in the Karoo Fossil Laboratory, a process that took two years.
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