Story perspectives

Garden Wall Yields 240-Million-Year-Old Amphibian Skeleton

5/7/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers described a 1.2-m skeleton of 240-million-year-old amphibian Arenaerpeton supinatus found in a garden retaining wall.
A chicken farmer uncovered the fossil in the 1990s and donated it to Australian Museum, Sydney.
Lachlan Hart and Matthew McCurry reported faint skin traces, a Sydney Basin freshwater habitat and a fish diet including Cleithrolepis.
Published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the study said temnospondyls survived 120 million years, implying size aided persistence.

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Story summary

Researchers described a 1.2-m skeleton of 240-million-year-old amphibian Arenaerpeton supinatus found in a garden retaining wall.
A chicken farmer uncovered the fossil in the 1990s and donated it to Australian Museum, Sydney.
Lachlan Hart and Matthew McCurry reported faint skin traces, a Sydney Basin freshwater habitat and a fish diet including Cleithrolepis.
Published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the study said temnospondyls survived 120 million years, implying size aided persistence.