325 million-year-old fossil found in Co Clare

Scientists have discovered fossils in Co Clare that could help them better understand the evolution process.

The 325 million-year-old bones belong to a terapod, which is a small amphibian that would have been an ancestor of the first lizards.

They were the first creatures to develop four legs and progress from the water to land.

According to RTE, the fossils were discovered on a beach near Doolin after a storm dislodged shale deposits and the creature lived during the Carboniferous period.

Dr Eamon Doyle, a geologist for the Burren and Cliffs of Moher said: "It's a very small little find in some ways but very significant in other ways. We rarely find fossil tetrapods in Ireland."

He added: "We've never found anything like that in this part of Ireland before."