Overview
- Peer-reviewed results published Feb. 22–23, 2026 in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology confirm the presence of Erythrobatrachus and Aphaneramma in the Kimberley fossils.
- Erythrobatrachus shows a broad, powerful skull consistent with an apex predator, whereas Aphaneramma’s long, narrow snout indicates a fish‑snatching specialist that shared the same habitat.
- The revision adds key Southern Hemisphere evidence and supports rapid post–end-Permian diversification and near-global dispersal of early marine tetrapods within about one to two million years.
- Aphaneramma’s range spans Svalbard, the Russian Far East, Pakistan and Madagascar, highlighting transoceanic links that contrast with Erythrobatrachus currently being known only from Australia.
- The skull fragments were collected in the 1960s–70s and named as a single species in 1972; the rediscovered Erythrobatrachus material is now being repatriated to Australia, underscoring the value of museum archives and modern imaging.