ISTANBUL 

A stone slab bearing 355-million-year-old claw marks, discovered near Melbourne, Australia, has upended a long-standing scientific view on evolution, sparking excitement and controversy among researchers in Sweden, local media reported on Friday.

Two amateur paleontologists found the slab, which features unusually well-preserved claw imprints, Swedish news broadcaster SVT reported.

The find was transported 1,500 miles to Sweden by one of the discoverers and handed over to the Evolution Museum at Uppsala University for analysis.

“This is a completely unique find,” said Per Ahlberg, a paleontologist at Uppsala University.

After months of study, Ahlberg and his team concluded the markings were indeed made by claws—a revelation that could rewrite a theory held since 1932.

“When it became clear to us that they were claw marks, I just thought, ‘Oh my god. It’s a fantastic thing, but many research colleagues will be angry about this',” he said.

The findings, published in the journal Nature in collaboration with Australian scientists, suggest land vertebrates may have emerged earlier than previously believed.

“Our interpretation stands out a little and redraws a picture that has been a truth since 1932, even if it has been nuanced,” Ahlberg said.

“Some colleagues are very excited, while others are absolutely furious and refuse to believe it.”

The discovery is now at the center of a heated scientific debate, with researchers weighing its potential to reshape the understanding of early animal evolution.