Long before dinosaurs or the first amphibians and reptiles, a unique crocodile and salamander-like creature called Whatcheeria stood as a fearsome predator , considered as the “T. Rex of his time”, as detailed in a recent study published by the journal Communications Biology.
The new research revealed that the prehistoric animal, which lived some 550 millions of years ago in the Carboniferous, arose in a time of evolutionary experimentation that developed tens of millions of years after vertebrates spread across the Earth .
After analyzing their fossilized bones -found in What Cheer, in Iowa (USA)- scientists were surprised to discover that Whatcheeria did not follow a slow and steady growth pattern, like many modern reptiles and amphibians, but that grew rapidly when young, like birds and mammals.
MEET WHATCHEERIA 🐊
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. Photos by Kate Golembiewski and Adrienne Stroup/Field Museum via Reutershttps://t.co/qHBt8yUPzF pic.twitter.com/Vhu1ndQNn4
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An “apex” predator
This lizard It was a primitive tetrapod, one of the first terrestrial animals with a backbone and the predecessor of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. The lizard spent most of its time in lakes and rivers and was about 2 meters long.
“Whatcheeria was not a slow and lazy amphibian. It was a large and active predator that grew very quickly in its juvenile phase . It was characterized by a large skull full of teeth and robust and stocky limbs. It was the apex predator in its environment, which included different types of fish and ancient sharks, as well as other smaller primitive tetrapods,” said lead author Megan Whitney, of Loyola University Chicago.
A mix between a crocodile and a salamander
According to scientists, It was probably the largest animal in the lake: “It is a wonderfully strange beast. You’d probably think it’s an alligator if you saw it, or maybe a large salamander. It had no scales and had a tall, narrow skull instead of a flat one,” added study co-author Ben Otoo.
Likewise, a microscopic examination of the thigh bones of nine specimens of this species revealed patterns of “rapid bone growth in Whatcheeria juveniles. This is important because it indicates that this animal’s growth strategy was similar to ours: grow fast as a youngster and then slow growth as an adult,” Whitney added.
An animal with aquatic and terrestrial capabilities
According to the author, the Whatcheeria could “have used a series of techniques of hunt. It could have been an ambush predator and used its stout limbs to propel an attack against both aquatic and terrestrial prey.”
“It is difficult to know for sure how much time was spent on land and how much in the water. However, what we can say is that its anatomy could have allowed the animal to walk on land”, added the expert.
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