Scientists have discovered traces of creatures that lived before the advent of dinosaurs
Miscellaneous / / April 06, 2023
Scientists from the Evolutionary Research Institute (ESI) have discovered traces of an ancient giant amphibian on the surface of a rock in the province of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. These creatures were already known to science, but only now it was possible to learn more about their way of life. Study published in Plos One magazine.
The discovered imprints belong to the temnospondylus of the Rhinesuchidae family. These animals were similar to modern crocodiles, but existed long before their evolution - at the end of the Permian period or more than 250 million years ago.
Now scientists have managed to establish that these two species were similar not only in appearance, but also in their way of life. Ancient reptiles could also swim and hunt in the water. Although at the same time they swung their tail from side to side and tightened their legs.
These creatures are not the oldest known species of life on Earth, but they still give an idea of the earlier times of the existence of our planet.
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