New species of amphibian discovered, 66 million years old

Researchers from Portuguese and Spanish institutions have identified a new amphibian species from 66-million-year-old fossils found in Spain. The fossils, discovered in Areny, Huesca, included over eighty bones and belong to a previously unknown group of albanerpetontids, which were small, lizard-like amphibians. This discovery sheds light on the evolutionary history of these creatures, indicating they transitioned from slender to more robust forms before the mass extinction event that wiped out non-avian dinosaurs. The new species, named Synorerpeton ribagorzana, highlights the Iberian Peninsula's significance in understanding the late Mesozoic era.