Antarctic fossil prompts rethink about amphibian history

Not sure exactly where to put this but I figured this would probably be the best place.

news.yahoo.com...

PARIS (AFP) - The fossilised remains of an amphibian which lived more than 245 million years ago have been found in Antarctica, suggesting that the climate during much of the Triassic era was remarkably balmy.

this maybe isn't as amazing as you think it is
antartica 245 million years ago wasn't at the south pole
your link states

Parotosuchus lived in an era when Africa and Antarctica are believed to have joined together in a supercontinent called Pangea.

www.newscientist.com...

The first dinosaur fossils collected on the Antarctic mainland include the remains of a large plant-eating sauropod, a flying pterosaur, small scavengers and an unusual large carnivorous dinosaur with a pair of horns and a crest

and what does this have to do with Ancient & Lost Civilizations anyway

Originally posted by sandman441

PARIS (AFP) - The fossilised remains of an amphibian which lived more than 245 million years ago have been found in Antarctica, suggesting that the climate during much of the Triassic era was remarkably balmy.

wiki source: antarctica

Paleozoic era (540-250 Mya)
During the Cambrian period Gondwana had a mild climate. West Antarctica was partially in the northern hemisphere, and during this period large amounts of sandstones, limestones and shales were deposited. East Antarctica was at the equator, where sea-floor invertebrates and trilobites flourished in the tropical seas. By the start of the Devonian period (416 Mya) Gondwana was in more southern latitudes and the climate was cooler, though fossils of land plants are known from this time.

Why it was remarkably balmy?
Next time trust your wiki files, its isn't a big deal of research to read wiki files before say anything... radical

In West Antarctica conifer forests dominated through the entire Cretaceous period (146-65 Mya)

Not only 245 Mya but 146 Mya Antarctica had flaura and fauna

Thanks



[edit on 4-4-2007 by Dragonlike]

Originally posted by Marduk
this maybe isn't as amazing as you think it is
antartica 245 million years ago wasn't at the south pole
your link states

Whoops I forgot about the continents all being together. I'd say I'll never do it again but I know better.

Originally posted by Marduk
and what does this have to do with Ancient & Lost Civilizations anyway

I had to kind of pick a place and wasn't exactly sure where to put it.

Originally posted by sandman441

Originally posted by Marduk
and what does this have to do with Ancient & Lost Civilizations anyway

I had to kind of pick a place and wasn't exactly sure where to put it.

You had ''fragile earth'' forum, after all when the Pangaia broke up into small pieces, our earth became more fragile

and anyway
there were amphibians in the arctic circle 145 million years later

Koolasuchus was a member of the temnospondyli order of amphibians and specifically of the chigutosaur group. It lived in the rift valleys of what is now southern Australia. It is notable both because it was one of the largest temnospondyl, and because it survived long after its cousins further north had become extinct. Competition with crocodiles is believed to have contributed to the general decline of the temnospondyl order. At this point in time Australia was within the Antarctic Circle, and had a climate too cold for crocodiles, protecting them from this competition. Koolasuchus was able to survive in this colder climate because, like modern salamanders, it is thought to have hibernated during the winter.

Around 5 metres (16 feet) long but only 30cm (1 foot) high, and with a weight on more than half a ton, it would have been able to hunt mammals or small dinosaurs who drank from the shallow swamps and rivers it lived in to supplement its diet. Due to its extremely large head and mouth, it may have been able to capture fish and shellfish by lying in wait and suddenly opening its mouth, sucking in water and its victim. This is a similar feeding habit to its closest modern relative, the primitive giant salamander of Asia

Crocodiles are the best adaptive animals ancestors of the dinosaurs... In a documentary i have seen that in any deluge or virus spread crocodiles are the only who can survive.

Wiki source: crocodile

Scientists in the United States have isolated a powerful agent in crocodile blood (crocodillin) which could help conquer human infections immune to standard antibiotics. The discovery was made thanks to the curiosity of Jill Fullerton-Smith.

I personally believe that these reptiles can adapt to any conditions and survive better than humans. Only in the continent Antarctica reptiles don't survive.

Crocodiles are the best adaptive animals ancestors of the dinosaurs

dinosaurs existed at the same time as crocodilians which first evolved 200 million years ago
so they aren't ancestors of the dinosaurs at all
and anyway
even if they were
the best adapted ancestor is clearly birds

Originally posted by Marduk
dinosaurs existed at the same time as crocodilians which first evolved 200 million years ago

mmmmm, let turn things right

I agree but they evolved from ''somewhere''

Wiki source: Crocodilia

They are the closest living relatives of birds, as the two groups are the only survivors of the Archosauria

Wiki source: Longisquama

Because of these and other bird-like traits, Longisquama was at the center of the still-ongoing debate over whether birds evolved directly from dinosaurs

wiki source: Birds

There is significant evidence that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs

and

Although ornithischian (bird-hipped) dinosaurs share the same hip structure as birds, birds actually originated from the saurischian (lizard-hipped) dinosaurs (if the dinosaurian origin theory is correct), and thus arrived at their hip structure condition independently. In fact, the bird-like hip structure also developed a third time among a peculiar group of theropods, the Therizinosauridae.

I wonder Marduk,
how so easily say that the birds can better evolve than the reptiles since both are decended from the reptiles?
I agree the birds adapted a structure different from those of the crocodiles but still scientist ignore the natural procedure took place to make them evolve that way. Only speculations.

your statement was that Crocodiles were the best adapted ancestor of the dinosaurs
I could have pointed out that you got it the wrong way round
that dinosaurs were the ancestors of the crocodiles
the word you were looking for was "descendants"
and either way its not true
Birds evolved from Dinosaurs
that is now an accepted fact
liek it or not Birds now fill every niche of animal on this planet
they are predators, herbivores, omnivores
they live in deserts, marine environments, tundra and every other area on this planet in places that most crocodiles would die in minutes
so crocodiles are not the best adapted
Birds are
so ner

Originally posted by Marduk
the word you were looking for was "descendants"

Damn

liek it or not Birds now fill every niche of animal on this planet
they are predators, herbivores, omnivores
they live in deserts, marine environments, tundra and every other area on this planet in places that most crocodiles would die in minutes
so crocodiles are not the best adapted
Birds are
so ner

Nope, birds migrate (not all of them) becouse they cannot adapt theselves in the global differences of seasonal temperatures to optimize availability of food sources and breeding habitat. Crocodiles don't migrate and can be spotted throughout the Tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia becouse they have chosen to live there and adapted the way to serve their purpose. Birds failed to do so.

there are birds that don't migrate Dragon
these are generally known as non migratory birds
they include examples such as Penguins and chickens
unless you got an example of a migratory chicken (kfc excluded) or a long distance penguin

crocodiles are not found in cold environments
birds are
crododiles are not found in dry environments
birds are
crocodiles are not found on hillsides or mountains
birds are
less you want to give me an example of a mountain tundra non aquatic crocodile

I can't help feel now though that you are still running with the idea that crocodiles are better adapted to life on earth than birds are because you came up with the original idea without giving it much thought and because you don't realise that several species of crocodile are actually on the endangered species list and that there are only 23 different species of crocodile compared to more than 10,000 bird species

pretend for just a minute that you had thought about it a little more and answer the following question
"what creature that evolved from Dinosaurs is the best adapted to life on this planet"