Oldest Southern Hemisphere Marine Reptile Fossil Discovered in New Zealand

A 246-million-year-old nothosaur fossil challenges previous theories on early marine reptile migration and evolution.

The fossil is the oldest marine reptile found in the Southern Hemisphere, dating back 246 million years.
It was discovered in New Zealand and identified as a nothosaur, a type of sauropterygian marine reptile.
This finding suggests that nothosaurs originated near the equator and rapidly spread globally after a mass extinction event.
The discovery pushes back the timeline of sauropterygian fossils in the Southern Hemisphere by over 40 million years.
Researchers believe more fossils are waiting to be discovered, which could further illuminate early marine reptile migration routes.