New U-Pb constraints and geochemistry of the East Kirkton Quarry, Scotland: Implications for early tetrapod evolution in the Carboniferous.

ABSTRACT: The transition of vertebrates from aquatic to terrestrial environments during the late Devonian to early Carboniferous marks a crucial evolutionary milestone. However, this transition remains poorly understood due to a scarcity of early tetrapod fossils during the late Devonian to early Mississippian, creating a gap in the fossil record known as Romer's Gap (~360-345 Ma). Recent discoveries have narrowed this gap, providing critical insights into early tetrapod evolution. The East Kirkton Quarry in Scotland's Midland Valley, has yielded tetrapod fossils considered early stem amphibians and amniotes. They have been proposed to be Mississippian (early Carboniferous) in age, yet data to inform their precise ages remain limited. Here, zircon grains from two tuffaceous clastic limestones and sh

SUBMITTER: Garza HK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12002438 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature