Sorry to all fans of Tridentinosaurus antiquus, thought to be a remarkably preserved 280-million-year-old lizard.
A newpaper published in Paleontologyposits that the early reptile fossil is in fact a forgery.
Now, it all makes sense.
The (painted) T. antiquus fossil, found in the alps in the 1930s.Photo:Dr Valentina Rossi
What was described as carbonized skin is just paint.
Womp womp, as they say.
Unfortunately, there was just paint.
Thats right: the fossil is not a complete forgery.
The researchers found that the animals hindlimbsthe femursappear legitimate, though not well preserved.
Sure, it took 93 years to get an answer to the nature of this suspiciously robust specimen.
But the important thing is that the truth prevailed.
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