Permian fossils expand Africa timeline

A long-running expedition across Tanzania and Zambia uncovers Permian fossils that illuminate life on land before Earth's largest mass extinction.

New Permian Africa Fossils Redefine Life Before the Great Dying

An international team led by the University of Washington and the Field Museum has spent more than 15 years excavating fossils in southern Africa to fill gaps in the Permian record. Base sites include the Ruhuhu Basin in Tanzania and the Luangwa and Mid-Zambezi basins in Zambia. The team describes new species of dicynodonts, saber-toothed predators called gorgonopsians, and a large temnospondyl, all from before the end-Permian extinction. Several specimens were recovered from older collections and will be returned to Tanzania and Zambia after analyses.

They published a 14-article series in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology detailing these discoveries. The work allows direct comparisons between Africa and other regions, offering a broader view than the Karoo Basin alone. The fossils are described as exquisitely preserved, enabling species-level comparisons that sharpen our understanding of life just before the Great Dying.

By expanding the geographic scope of the Permian record, the researchers challenge a Karoo-centric narrative and highlight a more global pre-extinction ecosystem. The new material suggests regional variation in predators, herbivores, and aquatic-adapted forms that persisted until the die-off, underscoring the complexity of the crisis.

Yet the project also raises questions about field ethics, governance, and heritage. With fossils slated to return to Tanzania and Zambia after study, the work sits at the intersection of science and cultural stewardship, reminding readers that breakthroughs come with responsibilities beyond the lab.

Highlights

As new fossils push the timeline farther back, the story of life on Earth becomes ever more interconnected.