The fossil skull of Kermitops (left) along with a modern frog skull (Lithobates palustris, right). The locations rust-colored rocks date back to the early Permian duration more than 270 million years back and consist of the fossilized remains of ancient reptiles, amphibians and sail-backed synapsids, the precursors to modern mammals.Calvin So (left), a doctoral trainee at George Washington University, and Arjan Mann (right), a Smithsonian postdoctoral paleontologist and previous Peter Buck Fellow, with the fossil skull of Kermitops in the Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History fossil collection. The skull was deposited in the Smithsonians National Fossil Collection, where it spent decades waiting for a scientist to take a better look.In 2021, Arjan Mann, a postdoctoral paleontologist at the museum and a former Peter Buck Fellow, was sorting through Hottons trove of Texas fossils when one specimen labeled as an early amphibian caught his eye.”One fossil right away jumped out at me– this actually well-preserved, primarily ready skull,” said Mann, who serves as Sos coach and is also a co-author on the brand-new paper.Mann and So teamed up to determine what kind of prehistoric creature the fossil belonged to.”Kermitops uses us clues to bridge this big fossil gap and start to see how salamanders and frogs developed these really specialized characteristics,” So said.Mann agrees and hopes that the discovery of a previously unidentified amphibian forefather hiding in plain sight will motivate other paleontologists to take a closer look at their own museums fossil collections.
The locations rust-colored rocks date back to the early Permian period more than 270 million years back and consist of the fossilized remains of ancient reptiles, amphibians and sail-backed synapsids, the precursors to contemporary mammals.Calvin So (left), a doctoral student at George Washington University, and Arjan Mann (best), a Smithsonian postdoctoral paleontologist and previous Peter Buck Fellow, with the fossil skull of Kermitops in the Smithsonians National Museum of Natural History fossil collection. The skull was transferred in the Smithsonians National Fossil Collection, where it spent years waiting for a researcher to take a better look.In 2021, Arjan Mann, a postdoctoral paleontologist at the museum and a former Peter Buck Fellow, was sorting through Hottons chest of Texas fossils when one specimen identified as an early amphibian captured his eye.”One fossil immediately jumped out at me– this truly well-preserved, mainly ready skull,” said Mann, who serves as Sos coach and is likewise a co-author on the brand-new paper.Mann and So teamed up to identify what kind of prehistoric animal the fossil belonged to.