波兰科学家在2023年于波兰南部发现了一具保存完好、近乎完整的Mastodonsaurus骨骼，这是迄今为止已知最大的此类化石[1][2]。该骨骼长约6米、重1,300公斤，距今约2.4亿年，来自中三叠纪时期[1]。
由Tomasz Sulej和Wojciech Pawlak领导的发现团队随后启动了一项大规模修复项目[1]。超过2,000名志愿者参与了在华沙哥白尼科学中心进行的清理和修复工作[1][2]。古生物学家Sulej表示："The structure of the body is different from what we knew so far. This is information that is completely new to the scientific world."[1]
这具化石的重要意义在于，Mastodonsaurus物种生活在已知最大规模灭绝事件之后、第一批恐龙出现的时期，该标本可能为生命在大规模灭绝后如何恢复和演变提供关键信息[2]。修复工作预计将在10月或11月完成，届时化石将在科学中心进行展出[1]。
Polish scientists have uncovered what is believed to be the world's largest known skeleton of a Mastodonsaurus, a giant prehistoric amphibian that lived approximately 240 million years ago. [1][2] The fossil, discovered in southern Poland in 2023 by paleontologists Tomasz Sulej and Wojciech Pawlak, measures roughly 6 meters (20 feet) in length and weighs 1,300 kilograms (2,865 pounds). [1]
What makes this discovery particularly significant is that it represents the first well-preserved, nearly complete skeleton of its kind ever found. [2] More than 2,000 volunteers have participated in a citizen science initiative led by the Copernicus Science Centre in Warsaw to carefully clean and restore the specimen. [1][2]
Paleontologist Sulej emphasized the scientific importance of the find, noting that "The structure of the body is different from what we knew so far. This is information that is completely new to the scientific world." [1] The skeleton offers researchers new insights into how this species lived during the period following one of Earth's largest mass extinction events and preceding the emergence of the first dinosaurs. [2]
The restoration project is expected to be completed in October or November, with the fully assembled skeleton scheduled to go on public display at the science center. [1]