pre-dino top predator fossil excavation toilet-shaped head, similar to salamanders
Jul 04, 2024
Fossils of top predators before the dinosaur era have been discovered and are attracting attention.
According to foreign media such as The Sun, a research team at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina discovered fossils of individuals who were the top predators 280 million years ago in Namibia, South Africa, and published them in the scientific journal Nature.
It resembles a giant salamander and is 2.5 meters long with a large toilet-shaped head and sharp fangs. The skull is about 61 centimeters long.
Named 'Gaiasia jennyae', the creature was estimated to have lived in swamp water 40 million years before the dinosaurs evolved.
Jason Pardo, a postdoctoral NSF researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago, wrote that `this Asian Zenie was much larger than a human and would have lived near the bottom of a swamp and lake.'
He also explained "Opening the mouth would have easily sucked the food" "The entire mouth is filled with large teeth with giant fangs".
While this creature is a large predator, it has also been speculated that it may be a relatively slow ambush predator.
The team said further investigation revealed that the creature was an early four-legged animal, a four-legged vertebrate that evolved from foliar fin fish, and was an ancestor of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
According to foreign media such as The Sun, a research team at the University of Buenos Aires in Argentina discovered fossils of individuals who were the top predators 280 million years ago in Namibia, South Africa, and published them in the scientific journal Nature.
It resembles a giant salamander and is 2.5 meters long with a large toilet-shaped head and sharp fangs. The skull is about 61 centimeters long.
Named 'Gaiasia jennyae', the creature was estimated to have lived in swamp water 40 million years before the dinosaurs evolved.
Jason Pardo, a postdoctoral NSF researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago, wrote that `this Asian Zenie was much larger than a human and would have lived near the bottom of a swamp and lake.'
He also explained "Opening the mouth would have easily sucked the food" "The entire mouth is filled with large teeth with giant fangs".
While this creature is a large predator, it has also been speculated that it may be a relatively slow ambush predator.
The team said further investigation revealed that the creature was an early four-legged animal, a four-legged vertebrate that evolved from foliar fin fish, and was an ancestor of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
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