Fossil shows some backbone

Sydney, Australia — A tadpole-shaped fossil, believed to be the oldest vertebrate ever found, has been uncovered by a farmer in a rugged range of hills in southern Australia, a museum paleontologist said Wednesday.

The fossil, of a 66-centimetre fishlike animal, is believed to be at least 560 million years old — 30 million years older than the previous record.

The latest fossil was discovered in sandstone in the Flinders Ranges in South Australia state, an area well known for its abundance of fossils. The exact location of the find is being kept secret.

"The fantastic thing about this specimen is that it's at least 30 million years older than anything else that could be even vaguely related to vertebrates," South Australia Museum paleontologist Jim Gehling told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.

http://theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031022.wfoss1022/BNStory/International/

removed

and sadly, your closing question is probably on the minds of many good Murkans who read this :grr:

:-)