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"FedEx" Fossil Amphibian Found in Pittsburgh
from National Geographic News
A new species of ancient amphibian with bone-ripping tusks has been found near a major airport in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a new study says.
Scientists named the 300-million-year-old Fedexia strieglei as a gesture of thanks to the FedEx shipping company, which owns the land where the fossils were found, said study co-author Dave Berman of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.
The 2-foot-long creature is also named for University of Pittsburgh geology student Adam Streigel, who mistook fossils of Fedexia's teeth for ancient fern leaves when he picked them up on a 2004 field trip. A later excavation found two vertebrae and a well-preserved skull that clearly shows Fedexia's taste for meat: The animal had two large canine-like teeth at the front of its mouth as well as tusks anchored to the roof of its mouth, which helped the amphibian dismember prey.
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