Why Early Triassic Swimming Reptile Fossil Tracks Preserved So Well

Sunday, March 1, 2015 - 21:10 in Paleontology & Archaeology

Fossil "swim tracks," a type of vertebrate trace fossil gaining recognition in the field of paleontology, is  made by various tetrapods (four-footed land-living vertebrates) as they traveled through water under buoyant or semibuoyant conditions.They occur in high numbers in deposits from the Early Triassic,  between the Permian and Jurassic 250 to 200 million years ago. Major extinction events mark the start and end of the Triassic but it is a but of a mystery why tracks from the period are so abundant and well preserved.Tracy J. Thomson next to a block with numerous swim tracks in Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.  read more

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