At the time the lizard prints were made, some 318 million years ago, the underlying sediments would have been more than 500 kilometres inland within the supercontinent Pangaea. (newscientist.com)
The mat had previously covered the seabed like a coating of plastic wrap, leaving the underlying sediments largely anoxic and off limits to animals. (scientificamerican.com)
A layer of ash buried in the underlying sediment confirms that Mono Lake predates a volcanic blast 760,000 years ago that created the nearby and still - active Long Valley Caldera. (discovermagazine.com)