(WJW) – Scientists have uncovered surprising findings about what was believed to be a 280-million-year-old reptile fossil.
A new examination of the remnants shows that the fossil is mostly just black paint on a carved lizard-shaped rock.
Tridentinosaurus antiquus was discovered in the Italian Alps in 1931.
Its body outline against the rock was believed to be preserved soft tissues.
“What was described as carbonized skin, is just paint,” Evelyn Kustatscher, a study co-author said in a statement.
Dr. Valentina Rossi of University College Cork, Ireland (UCC), led the study.
“The answer to all our questions was right in front of us, we had to study this fossil specimen in detail to reveal its secrets – even those that perhaps we did not want to know,” Dr. Rossi said.
The fossil is not a complete fake.
The bones of the hindlimbs are there. It appears that the paint was used to fill in the rest.
The new research shows the presence of tiny bony scales called osteoderms – like the scales of crocodiles – on what perhaps was the back of the animal.