A fossil found in the Codroy Valley on Newfoundland's west coast could provide evidence that giant amphibians called the area home about 300 million years ago.

This spring, a student at Memorial University in St. John's found what she thought was a piece of fossilized wood.

Liam Herringshaw, a professor of earth sciences at the university, says the fossil turned out to be a fossil bone, likely from a giant amphibian.

Herringshaw said nothing like it had been found in this province before.

"It was a pretty surprising moment because we've found lots of fossil plants before but this is undoubtedly a bone and it's a large bone. It's about 12 to 15 centimetres long," he said.

According to Herringshaw, much of Newfoundland's western coastline is the same age as the fossil and there's a chance more discoveries may be made in the area.