Many thought dinosaurs were the most terrifying beings that lived on Earth. However, according to reports, an apex predator ruled the planet years before them and the newly discovered fossils showed how fearsome the extinct beast was.
Pampaphoneus Biccai Fossils Discovered
Researchers recently unearthed 265-million-year-old fossils, which provided further information about the ancient beast that once prowled the jungle before the dinos. According to lead author Mateus A. Costa Santos, a paleontologist at UNIPAMPA, the fossil was discovered in middle Permian rocks, a region where bones are uncommon. The rare find near São Gabriel in Southern Brazil included skeletal bones and an almost-complete fossilized cranium of Pampaphoneus biccai measuring about 36 cm (14.2 inches).
The animal had a terrible appearance that must have filled anyone who came into contact with it with utter dread, per Harvard University paleontologist Stephanie Pierce.
Felipe Pinheiro, a paleontologist from Brazil's Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA), noted that the animal possessed big pointed canine teeth designed for catching prey. Like modern hyenas, its teeth and cranial morphology show that its bite was powerful enough to devour bones.
The examination of the skull has revealed fresh information that has prompted the researchers to hypothesize that a jawbone that has not yet been recognized is from a bigger worse variation of Pampaphoneus biccai. The researchers claim that further fossils are required in order to support their theory, but it may indicate that the skull they just examined is not even from an adult.
According to Pierce, the discovery is essential for giving a glimpse into the community structure of terrestrial ecosystems soon before the most significant mass extinction in human history. Pierce considered it a " spectacular find" that showcases the significance of the fossil record in Brazil worldwide.
Other dinocephalians' fossils have been discovered in South Africa and Russia, but Pampaphoneus biccai is the only species that has been identified there. The researchers claim that this well-preserved fossil "reveals new characters previously unknown for the species," as a smaller skull was discovered in 2008.
Santos added that it was crucial to find a new Pampaphoneus skull because it had been so long since the last one was discovered. The animal had previously been challenging to distinguish from its Russian relatives.
What Is Pampaphoneus Biccai?
Pampaphoneus biccai ruled Earth 40 million years before the dinosaurs did. It formerly held the record for South America's biggest and most vicious predator.
It is an extinct genus of dinocephalians from Brazil's Middle Permian Rio do Rasto Formation. The dinocephalians, an early branch of the therapsids that existed before the terrible extinction event that wiped off an astounding 86% of all animal species worldwide, are the next step in the lineage of Pampaphoneus.
Pampaphoneus was distinctive in more ways than merely its size. Their massively constructed skulls with dense cranial bones, similar to those of many dinocephalians, gave rise to the clade's apt name, "terrible head" in Greek.
They represented a varied range that included both predators and herbivores and were the primary big land inhabitants of their period.
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