Scientists in Australia have identified the oldest known fossil footprints of a reptile-like animal on a slab of sandstone recovered near Melbourne.

Fossilized claw tracks discovered in Australia show that the animal group that includes reptiles, mammals and birds formed earlier than expected

After a brief rain in part of the ancient supercontinent of Gondwana 350 million years ago, a reptile pressed its small claws into the still-wet ground. "You see the claws making long scratches on the ground.