The gnarly-looking predators known as Pampaphoneus Biccai roamed South America 265 million years ago. Researchers working together found an “exquisitely preserved” 265 million-year-old set of fossils from the creature, including the skull. They lived 40 million years before dinosaurs appeared on Earth, insofar as anyone knows.
The fossil was found in Sao Gabriel with a complete skull and some bones, including rib and arm bones. They studied and cleaned the skull for three years.
“This animal was a gnarly-looking beast, and it must have evoked sheer dread in anything that crossed its path,” said study co-author Stephanie E. Pierce, a professor in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University – a curator at the school’s Museum of Comparative Zoology. “Its discovery is key to providing a glimpse into the community structure of terrestrial ecosystems just prior to the biggest mass extinction of all time. A spectacular find that demonstrates the global importance of Brazil’s fossil record.”
They are one of four clades – species that lived at the time. Researchers believe it was three meters in length (about three yards) and weighed about 400 kilograms or over 880 pounds.
It’s only the second one found in South America. It served the same purpose as a cat and had sharp canine teeth. It was strong enough to chew bones. It looks like an alligator.
They may not be pretty, but they are impressive. They were the oldest and largest creature in Brazil at the time.
You can comment on the article after the ads and subscribe to the Daily Newsletter here if you would like a quick view of the articles of the day and any late news:
The problem is with “carbon dating” which is not accurate because many assumptions have been made about radioactive depletion rates. They just can’t say “we really don’t know”, so they make stuff up out of whole cloth, so to speak. Like evolution, it’s never ever been observed to happen. It’s just made up by people who “really don’t know anything… Read more »
Peter… Only disagree with this part which seems a little cynical for a Christian. “There is no natural goodness in us.” Babies are normally totally loving when they’re born. Everything else spot on. What the Marxists don’t say about Marx. Marx allowed two of his children to die because he wouldn’t get a job. He wanted to go to library… Read more »
Just to clarify a little mistake. In Hebrew the “day” starts in the evening and ends in the morning. As in, “The evening and morning of the first day”. Also, Hebrew has no punctuation or articles. It is a verb rich and noun poor language. Everything is based on context and usage. Great post!
Personally I think is a bunch of rubbish. The dating is based on false presumptions and relies on the very unscientific theory of evolution, now a key part of humanism, the philosophy that is destroying the USA. There are so may true scientific proofs of a young CREATED world that humanists try to bury. Take a look at ICR.org and… Read more »
True enough, but salvation is only found in Christ, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. He that believes in me shall never die.” This is God’s promise of eternal life given ONLY to the faithful. The infidel has no eternal soul.