Earliest Reptile Footprints

Scientists have discovered the oldest recorded reptile-like footprints, a study revealed yesterday. The fossilized claw tracks near Melbourne, Australia, date back 354 million to 358 million years. They suggest animals evolved the ability to walk on land much earlier than previously thought. 

Animals emerged from the ocean roughly 400 million years ago. Amniotes—ancestors to modern birds, reptiles, and mammals—emerged at some point afterward, with claws (and later, feet and nails) enabling them to live on hard land. 

The Australian discovery hastens the timeline and location of this evolutionary jump; the earliest clawed tracks beforehand were discovered in Canada, dating back 318 million years. This latest discovery suggests the jump to land living happened in the ancient southern continent of Gondwana (more, w/video).

The reptile-like creature likely measured 2.5 feet long, with long toes and hooked claws, resembling a monitor lizard. Trackways suggest the animal scampered in light rainfall before two others ran the opposite way. See more here (w/video).