Reptiles first to conquer dry land

RESEARCHERS today announced proof that reptiles were the first vertebrates to conquer dry land with the discovery of 318-million-year-old footprints.

The fossilised reptile footprints were found in sea-cliffs on the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada, by Dr Howard Falcon-Lang of Royal Holloway, University of London. The discovery proves the theory that reptiles were the first to make the continental interiors their home.

This is because reptiles do not need to return to water to breed unlike their amphibian cousins.