Crocodile-like skin belonging to an early species of reptile is the oldest fossilized skin ever discovered, dating back almost 290 million years — 130 million years older than the previous record holder.
The skin, dating from the Paleozoic era (541 million to 252 million years ago), has similar features to that of other ancient reptile species, with pebble-like, non-overlapping scales, which most closely resemble the extinct Cretaceous (145 million to 66 million years ago) dinosaur Edmontosaurus and crocodile skin. Hinged regions between the epidermal scales resemble the skin structures found in snakes and worm lizards, paleontologists noted in a new study.
