Paleontologists discovered a 300-million-year-old animal fossil in Utah's Canyonlands National Park on October 23, CNN reports.
The skeleton has the skeleton of a tetrapod (four legs) but the identification of its species is for the moment impossible.
The only concrete elements put forward by the researchers concern the classification of the animal: it was a reptile or a mammal.
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“
It's a fascinating fossil.
You don't see that every day,
”enthused Adam Marsh, paleontologist at Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona.
"
It mainly means that other fossils of this type are surely found here,
" he continued.
Specialists chronologically place their find in the Permian or Pennsylvanian eras, between 305 and 295 million years ago.
One year of work to determine the species
The skeleton was intact when it was discovered, and the bones were in their "living
position
", that is, in the posture that the animal adopted during its lifetime.
Adam Huttelocker, a specialist on the team, clarified that it was a vertebrate laying eggs.
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The fossil was moved to the Petrified Forest Park laboratory for testing and scans.
The attempt to identify the species could take at least a year, although it may be unsuccessful.
Thus, research is likely to lead to the discovery of a new animal, which is extremely rare.
“
It's a unique opportunity for me, maybe the only one in my life,
” insisted Adam Huttelocker.