The giant salamander-like predator, which lived 40 million years before the first dinosaurs, had huge teeth and sucked in prey with its strange head. Researchers in Namibia have discovered fossils of a giant extinct swamp creature with a skull shaped like a toilet seat.
Gaiasia jennyae existed about 280 million years ago (about 40 million years before the evolution of the first dinosaurs) and provides a glimpse into the early evolution of tetrapods, or four-legged vertebrates.
Its skull measured more than 0.6 metres (2 ft) long, and researchers believe the entire animal may have been up to 2.5 metres (8 ft) long, making it the largest living creature of its kind, according to one statement.
Researchers described the swamp creature in a study published Wednesday, July 3, in the journal Nature.
“Gaiasia jennyae It was much larger than a person and likely hung near the bottom of marshes and lakes, study co-author Jason Pardo, a research associate at the Field Museum in Chicago, said in a separate statement.
G. jennyae It had hooked jaws that allowed it to hunt its prey. Researchers believe it was one of the top predators in the swamp ecosystem.
Source: Port Altele
