Prehistoric swamp creature sucks in its prey
Researchers reconstruct the fossil remains of an animal that lived on Earth around 300 million years ago. This two-meter long salamander-like creature could have been widely distributed. The animals with their enormous jaws lay in wait in swamps.
An equally unusual and impressive prehistoric predator was discovered by researchers in present-day Namibia. Its head, equipped with a saw-toothed jaw, measured over half a meter, and the entire creature was around two meters long, as reported by the team in the journal "Nature". It likely lurked at the bottom of swamps and lakes, swallowing passing organisms with its wide, flat mouth and holding them firmly with a powerful bite.
The creature resembling a giant salamander was given the scientific name Gaiasia jennyae. Remains of this species were found in the Gai-As-Formation in the northwest of Namibia, as reported by the team led by Jason Pardo from the Field Museum in Chicago.
Namibia is located northwest of South Africa today. Scientists believe that it was located further south and bordered the Antarctic around 300 million years ago. As the ice age came to an end, there were swamps there that were inhabited by G. jennyae. It is possible that there were also ice fields and glaciers at the same time.
Possible Wide Distribution
This tetrapod creature lived around 280 million years ago during the Perm period - long before the first dinosaurs appeared. The skull of G. jennyae is significantly larger than that of related fossils found in Europe and North America. There are also indications that early tetrapods like this may have covered a larger part of the planet than previously assumed.
G. jennyae is a particularly archaic species of that time - related organisms were already extinct around 40 million years earlier. For G. jennyae to be a relic of earlier times went well for it - it seems to have been the most important predator in this ecosystem. Other archaic animals before 300 million years ago were small and rare, explained Pardo.
The discovery of well-preserved fossils of G. jennyae in various locations suggests a wide distribution of this lost property during its time. Furthermore, the similarity in fossil finds between Namibia and European paleontology sites hints at a global presence of this ancient species, potentially challenging previous assumptions about the distribution of early tetrapods.
