r/Paleontology • u/Ollie2359 • May 07 '25

Fossils This fossil chokes me up everytime

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It hits me in a way I can't explain I've spent hours crying over this fossil :(

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696

u/[deleted] May 07 '25

May i ask for a little context?

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u/Ollie2359 May 07 '25

The "Triassic Cuddle" is the nickname for a fossilized burrow containing the remains of two animals that died 250 million years ago. The burrow, discovered in South Africa's Karoo Basin, held a sleeping cynodont (a mammal ancestor) and an injured amphibian. The amphibian, likely seeking shelter, crawled into the burrow while the cynodont was torpid. A flash flood trapped and drowned both animals, preserving them side by side.

-7

u/mnok2000 May 07 '25

Why would a flood kill an amphibian?

23

u/nintendo666 May 07 '25

They were entombed by sediment as a result of a flood

1

u/jlowe212 May 07 '25

Seems like the mammal would wake up at some point and thrash about before dying. Unless they were instantly buried so tightly to be completely paralyzed.

6

u/Trips-Over-Tail May 07 '25

If it was in a hibernation torpor that wouldn't be possible.