'World Serpent': 308 Million-Year-Old Microsaur Fossil Found by Paleontologists, Named After Thor's Nemesis

Paleontologists discovered a new species of the microsaur, one of the tiniest crawling animals that roamed our planet. The long but small reptile was found to live and exist 308 million years ago. The microsaur species was named after a vicious snake from Viking mythology that served as an arch-nemesis to the Norse God of Thunder, the famous Thor.

Amniote Microsaur Joermungandr Bolti

(Photo: (Created by Henry Sutherland Sharpe, © 2019 Henry Sutherland Sharpe. Used under license.))

Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent or sometimes the World Serpent, was given to the prehistoric reptile. The Viking lore explains that Jörmungandr's tail is the mark of catastrophe. Once the tail of the World Serpent shows up, Ragnarok will proceed. However, even though the story of the huge monster is quite frightening, the recently discovered Joermungandr bolti scales to a few inches long only.

The microsaur or small lizard belongs to the smallest group of the first vertebrate reptiles that ruled our planet. According to the study, Joermungandr bolti's body structure comprises slender proportions, long length, tiny limbs, and a plain, round skull. The fossil found on the recent discovery was perfectly preserved, that even physical details such as the microsaur's scale were still recognizable.

Joermungandr bolti's scale has a dirt-repelling feature, which can also be found in some living reptiles today. The overall observation published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, entitled "Joermungandr bolti, an exceptionally preserved 'microsaur' from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte reveals patterns of integumentary evolution in Recumbirostra" suggest that the microsaurs appearance and traits were essential for the creature to move like a snake underground.

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Prehistoric World Serpent in Chicago, Illinois

The microsaur's fossil was unearthed from Illinois' Mazon Creek and is now under the preservation of Chicago's Field Museum. The Mazon Creek is a known paleontological spot for experts, as dozens of complete or pieces of prehistoric fossils have been excavated from the area. The Mazon Creek's fossil collection is frequently dated from 359 to 299 million years old, which point to the Carboniferous period.

The University of Calfornia's Museum of Paleontology said that the Microsaurs include some of the early vertebrates, also known as the amniotes, that develop in the form of fluid-filled eggs covered in multiple layers of membrane, Live Science reports.

Aside from Norse mythology, the microsaur species J.Bolti was inspired by one of Chicago Field Museum's reptile and amphibian emeritus curator John Bolt. The J.Bolti microsaur, according to the research, is included in the Recumbirostra group. This specific microsaur group roamed our planet in a span of 40 to 50 million years.

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History's paleobiology experts and principal author of the study Arjan Mann said that the Recumbirostra group existed from 299 million to 251 million years ago, sometime between the Carboniferous to the early Permian period. Mann was able to identify previous microsaur fossils collected in separate studies, including the Diabloroter and the Infernovenator, which translates to devil digger and hell hunter, respectively.

The discovery of the microsaurs, if proven to be among the early amniotes, could contribute to other studies on how the prehistoric animals rapidly adapted from vast oceans to dry land. Most of the early amniotes have slow adaptation and look like small modern lizards, compared to Mann's recent microsaur fossils with a different body structure and were quick to evolve, reports Daily Mail.

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