Super-salamander with 'toilet-seat' head terrorised Earth 200 million years ago
Source: The Telegraph
Super-salamander with 'toilet-seat' head terrorised Earth 200 million years ago
A prehistoric 'super-salamander' was one of the Earth's top predators before the
dinosaurs evolved, scientists at Edinburgh University have discovered
12:01AM GMT 24 Mar 2015
A previously undiscovered species of crocodile-like amphibian that lived during the rise of dinosaurs was among Earth’s top predators more than 200 million years ago, scientists at Edinburgh University have found.
Palaeontologists identified the prehistoric species – which looked like giant salamanders – after excavating bones buried on the site of an ancient lake in southern Portugal.
The species was part of a wider group of primitive amphibians that were widespread at low latitudes 220-230 million years ago, the team says.
The creatures grew up to 2m in length and lived in lakes and rivers during the Late Triassic Period, living much like crocodiles do today and feeding mainly on fish, researchers say.
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Read more: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/dinosaurs/11489733/Super-salamander-with-toilet-seat-head-terrorised-Earth-200-million-years-ago.html
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Note this may be the same animal as Pholiderpeton, previously described. If so, could be known as "derp" for short.
