prehistoric predator – आवारा मुसाफिर

Namibia fossil is a prehistoric ‘swamp thing’ with menacing fangs

July 5, 2024245 Views

Huge salamander like predator existed before the dinosaurs You might call it the "swamp thing." About 280 million years ago, a large creature built somewhat like a salamander but with frightful fangs prowled the swamps and lakes of what is now Namibia, ambushing prey as a top predator in a chilly ecosystem long before the dinosaurs. The creature, named Gaiasia jennyae, lived during the Permian Period and measured at least 8 feet (2.5 meters) long - and perhaps up to 13 feet (4 meters), according to researchers who announced the discovery of its fossilized remains. Its large, round, flat skull measured more than 2 feet (60 cm) long, and it had interlocking fangs at the front of its mouth. Scientist Claudia Marsicano looks at the fossil skeleton of the Permian Period salamander-lik...

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Prehistoric ‘wonderfully weird beast’ Whatcheeria grew big quickly

AWARA MUSAFIR BUREAU

December 5, 2022245 Views

It looked like a cross between a crocodile and a salamander - and definitely was not an animal to be messed with. Long before the dinosaurs or even the advent of the earliest true amphibians and reptiles, a unique creature called Whatcheeria was a genuine apex predator. New research is providing a deeper understanding of Whatcheeria, which lived roughly 330 million years ago during the Carboniferous period and arose during a time of evolutionary experimentation and innovation that unfolded in the tens of millions of years after vertebrates first conquered the land. After a close examination of its fossilized bones, scientists were surprised to find that Whatcheeria did not follow a slow-and-steady growth pattern during its life akin to many modern reptiles and amphibians but rather ...