325 Million Year-Old Amphibian Bones Found In Clare

The bones of an amphibian-like creature that scurried the shores of Co Clare 325 million years ago have been discovered.

The two small fossilised bones were recovered from a beach at Doolin.

Researchers Dr Eamon Doyle and Dr Aodhán Ó Gogáin published their findings in the Irish Journal of Earth Sciences.

The 10mm-long bones come from a leg and possibly a hip bone from a small amphibian that would have been an ancestor to the first lizards, which ultimately evolved into dinosaurs 100 million years later.

It's understood they date back to the Carboniferous Period which lasted from 360 to 299 million years ago. This is an important period in the evolution of life as it is during this time that amphibians evolved from fish and first began to colonise the land. The fact that amphibian bones are rare finds in rocks of this age highlights the importance of Dr Doyle's discovery.

The amphibian from Clare, that would fit in the palm of your hand, probably lived along a swampy coastline, either in an estuary or along rivers further inland and may have been washed out to sea during a storm or flood, the bones eventually settling onto the muddy seafloor where they were buried and turned to fossils.



(JG/CM)