Details of extraordinary tetrapod traces discovered by CASP researchers during geological fieldwork on the remote island of Bjørnøya has recently been published in the Norwegian Journal of Geology.

With the assistance of 3D photogrammetry of the fossilised impressions, the traces are assigned to ichnogenus Limnopus and the trace makers are identified as large temnospondyl amphibians. The prints also preserve the transition from swimming to walking, during which pace angulation and stride length increased, the same behaviour as modern salamanders. They are the first Carboniferous tetrapod traces discovered from Svalbard and are probably among the oldest examples of Limnopus yet found.

8 September 2020