It lived 40 million years before the first dinosaurs appeared on Earth. It was a fierce predator that roamed the prehistoric swamps. It measured up to two meters. It had a mouth with long interlocking fangs that acted like a suction cup to devour its prey. It is about Gaiasia jennyaeThe discovery of the giant salamander occurred in Namibia.
“This creature could aptly be called a ‘hell salamander,'” said science journalist Paul Smaglik, commenting on the find. The fossil was named after the Gai-as Formation in Namibia, where it was discovered, and in honour of Jenny Clack, a paleontologist.
Solid Giant
“The specimen was lying like a giant solidified on a rocky outcrop. It was really shocking,” said Claudia A. Marsicano of the University of Buenos Aires. “I knew it was something completely different. We are all very excited,” said the paleontologist.
The team found several specimens, including one with a very well-preserved skull articulated with the vertebral column. “The skull caught my attention. It was the only part visible at the time and showed very unusual large interlocking tusks. They created a strange bite for early tetrapods.”
The shape of its head and jaw allowed it to open its mouth and suck in its prey. The fossil provides critical information about tetrapods that inhabited the high latitudes of Gondwana. Namibia is located just north of South Africa. But 300 million years ago it was much further south, near the 60th parallel. Almost at the northernmost point of present-day Antarctica. And at that time, the Earth was approaching the end of an ice age.
Archaic specimen
In warmer, drier parts of the world, animals evolved into new forms. The first four-legged vertebrates, called tetrapods, branched off and divided into lineages. They would become mammals, reptiles and amphibians. In places like what is now Namibia, older forms remained.
«It is really surprising that Gaiasia “It’s not so archaic. It was related to organisms that probably became extinct 40 million years earlier.” It was possibly the top predator in its ecosystem. “The discovery of the giant salamander tells us about a new world. There was a thriving ecosystem that could support these large predators. The more we look, the more answers we can find about these important animal groups that interest us. For example, the ancestors of modern mammals and reptiles.”
