Discovery of the Diplocaulus?

THIS was the picture that sparked off a Hoo Haa about the not so recent hoax or discovery of a probably extinct amphibian species, the Diplocaulus. Though old news, 2004, I managed to stumble upon it only recently and well... it caught my interest.

Nov, 2004

Over the last two or three weeks, I have been sent the accompanying picture at least nine times by different persons who had received it over the Internet and who wanted more information about the creature depicted. A number of versions of this picture seem to be doing the rounds. The most common has accompanying text that says that this creature occurs at Il-Maghluq in Marsascala, while another version says that this animal was photographed at Bahrija. I am invariably asked if this is a real discovery or if it is a hoax, whether such an animal actually exists, whether it is a salamander or a lizard, and whether this is a native or an alien species. The short answer to all these queries is that yes, this is a hoax, but the animal shown really exists, or rather, it has existed, since it became extinct about 270 million years ago. The picture itself is a hoax that seems to have originated overseas, although I have not been able to trace where. The image might be of a model or it might be a doctored image created digitally. The animal shown is a type of early amphibian called Diplocaulus that is distinguished by two elongated bones at the back of the skull that in life gave the animal a very odd, boomerang-shaped head.Diplocaulus lived some 270 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs appeared, and its fossils have been found in North America. Although not a salamander but rather a member of a now extinct group of amphibians called nectridians, Diplocaulus very much resembles a modern salamander apart for its head.The very distinctive head may have been an adaptation against predators, since the wide head would make Diplocaulus difficult to swallow, or it may have aided the animal to swim by acting as a hydrofoil. Like most other early amphibians, Diplocaulus lived in or near water. It probably fed on insects or fish. It was also considerably larger than the image doing the rounds suggests, since fossils as large as 80 cm in length have been discovered.Discovering a live Diplocaulus at Il-Maghluq would certainly be a major scientific discovery rivalling the discovery of the coelacanth. Unfortunately, this is science fiction!

Source: http://www.timesofmalta.com/core/index.php

Another picture, not sure if its from the same people who posted the first.

















Anyway, here's my argument:

Quite hard to tell true or fake from these photos but it could be a just a plastic replica placed in a pail of water and a stream though they should be two different replicas since the leg postures are different. Anyway, I believe it is highly unlikely to be a genuine based on the following reasons.

1. Diplocaulus, existed nearly 270 million years ago... This was way before even dinosaurs evolved. To have such a body design survive till date may be truely amazing especially for vertebrates which live in highly volatile environments unlike the seas which are considered fairly stable buffering the effects of ice age etc. which explains the survival of many living fossil body designs like the hagfish and the coelocanth. Living before, through and surviving after the dinosaur age seem highly unlikely as few other living fossils thriving in similar environments have proved that possible. Few exceptions are crocodilians, centipedes, dragonflies and some other insects. Most of such bodily designs have however evolved to become much smaller for our climate of today. This may explain the smaller size of the Diplocaulus lookalike even though the head proportions may have been highly uneconomical since the hammerhead is so much larger than even the Diplocaulus.

2. Fossils of Diplocaulus were found in the North American continent and no where else. Despite the tectonic shifts since late Permain era, if I'm not wrong, the plates do not connect to the Mediterranean region making any evolution to a modern descendant of Diplocaulus in Malta to be improbable. An animal such as Diplocaulus is also unlikely to be capable of long distance migrations.

3. Should there truely be a descendant of the Diplocaulus still surviving today in Malta, fossil remains of the species from Permain era till modern day should have been discovered as a continuum. If that is true, the Diplocaulus would not have been defined and dated as a Permain era creature. To lose all evidence of a species for a few hundred million years and suddenly see new evidence of its presence is highly unlikely.

While all evidence in my opinion points towards the improbability of such a find as a genuine discovery, we will keep a lookout for any future appearances of similar reports. As if it is true, it would be an amazing find indeed and only goes to show how little we have understood of our planet. Save our planet... while we still can...