Jul 02, 2015 10:50 AM EDT By Russell Westerholm, UniversityHerald Reporter

Scientists detailed the fossil of an ancient relative of the modern "Jesus lizard," which is named for its ability to walk on water.

According to Live Science, the fossil was found in Wyoming, far from where modern Jesus lizards live today. While the reptiles are now native to Mexico and Colombia, the researchers said Wyoming had a much warmer, tropical climate during the Eocene epoch.

"Given our current period of global climate fluctuation, looking to the fossil record offers an important opportunity to observe what is possible, and may give us an idea of what to expect from our dynamic Earth," study author Jack Conrad, an assistant professor of anatomy at the NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine, said in a press release.

Conrad published his paper in the journal PLOS One and could not say for certain if the Jesus lizard's ancient relative was able to also walk on water, as those who discovered the fossil did not recover the reptile's feet.

"They have very large feet, and they're able to move their legs very quickly," Conrad told Live Science. "They're able to use just the surface tension of water to flap their foot on the water and pull up before the water closes around the toes."

The researchers named the lizard Babibasiliscus alxi and determined it was the oldest known member of the Corytophanidae group to which the Jesus lizard belongs. But the lizard Conrad examined had some miraculous qualities of its own. The reptile's skull showed a large jaw fracture that apparently healed.

"This is a pretty severely broken jaw based on what we can see in the CT scan," he said. "It usually takes a pretty hardy animal to survive something like that."

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