Skulls of a 17-foot-long, crocodile-like creature have been discovered.
The skull of the phytosaur Machaeroprosopus lottorum.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MUSEUM OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY ©2014
Scientists say the fossils of an ancient "swamp monster" that roamed the wilds of West Texas are those of a new species.
According to the study, the roughly 17-foot-long monster lurked in swamps during the Triassic period, when West Texas was a tropical rain forest lush with tall ferns and conifers.
With its 2-foot-long snout, Machaeroprosopus lottorum would have resembled—and acted like—a modern-day gharial, ambushing prey such as fish and amphibians from beneath the water.
Paleontologists dubbed the ancient creature M. lottorum after the Lott family, which owns the Texas Panhandle ranch where the two skulls were discovered in the summer of 2001. The first skull the scientists found wasn't well preserved, but a few weeks later, when Doug Cunningham, a field research assistant at the Museum of Texas Tech University and co-author of the study, dug up the second skull, they were shocked.
When other paleontologists began studying the skulls, says study co-author Bill Mueller, assistant curator of paleontology at the museum, they noticed something that suggested these phytosaurs were a new species: An opening at the top of the skull, called the supratemporal fenestra, was located in a different place than on known phytosaurs.
However, much of what's assumed about phytosaurs is speculation, as only a few skeletons have ever been found. If paleontologists could find an intact one, they could confirm if it really was a swamp-dweller by measuring its legs: Short, squat limbs would mean it lived in water.
Their wish may be granted: Study co-author Mueller said his team just found a huge phytosaur skull that's now being excavated.
For the full story see the source : http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140131-swamp-monster-paleontology-animals-ancient-science/
The skull of the phytosaur Machaeroprosopus lottorum.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF MUSEUM OF TEXAS TECH UNIVERSITY ©2014
Scientists say the fossils of an ancient "swamp monster" that roamed the wilds of West Texas are those of a new species.
According to the study, the roughly 17-foot-long monster lurked in swamps during the Triassic period, when West Texas was a tropical rain forest lush with tall ferns and conifers.
With its 2-foot-long snout, Machaeroprosopus lottorum would have resembled—and acted like—a modern-day gharial, ambushing prey such as fish and amphibians from beneath the water.
Paleontologists dubbed the ancient creature M. lottorum after the Lott family, which owns the Texas Panhandle ranch where the two skulls were discovered in the summer of 2001. The first skull the scientists found wasn't well preserved, but a few weeks later, when Doug Cunningham, a field research assistant at the Museum of Texas Tech University and co-author of the study, dug up the second skull, they were shocked.
When other paleontologists began studying the skulls, says study co-author Bill Mueller, assistant curator of paleontology at the museum, they noticed something that suggested these phytosaurs were a new species: An opening at the top of the skull, called the supratemporal fenestra, was located in a different place than on known phytosaurs.
However, much of what's assumed about phytosaurs is speculation, as only a few skeletons have ever been found. If paleontologists could find an intact one, they could confirm if it really was a swamp-dweller by measuring its legs: Short, squat limbs would mean it lived in water.
Their wish may be granted: Study co-author Mueller said his team just found a huge phytosaur skull that's now being excavated.
For the full story see the source : http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140131-swamp-monster-paleontology-animals-ancient-science/
For the full story see the source : http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140131-swamp-monster-paleontology-animals-ancient-science/
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