Oldest Sea Reptile Fossil in the Southern Hemisphere Discovered in New Zealand

Researchers have found the oldest Southern Hemisphere fossil of a nothosaur in New Zealand, dating back 246 million years, providing new insights into the early marine adaptations and migrations of these ancient reptiles.

An international group of researchers has discovered the oldest fossil of a marine reptile from the Southern Hemisphere—a nothosaur vertebra on New Zealand’s South Island. Dating back 246 million years to the dawn of the Age of Dinosaurs, New Zealand was situated along the southern polar coastline of the immense super-ocean known as Panthalassa.