According to a new study, scientists believe that the largest animal ever lived in the sea. In fact, a new discovery led them to believe that one of the largest animals was a predator from the Triassic period, somewhat similar to modern whales.
Based on this new discovery, researchers believe that a 244 million-year-old fossil can be comparable to current cetaceans. The animal in question, the ichthyosaur, lived up to 8 million years after the first ichthyosaur appeared. Because of its huge size compared with other ichthyosaurs, scientists believe that its evolution has accelerated to some extent.
The new research, published in the journal Science on December 24, focuses on fossils found in Fossil Hill, Nevada. It also pays attention to how the creature that left the fossil grows so large. Based on this discovery, scientists believe that the ichthyosaur they found had a two-meter-long skull. They also think this is a brand new Cymbospondylus.
Researchers say this is the largest known Triassic tetrapod on land or in the sea. It is also the first in a series of huge ocean giants that will continue to rule the ocean. They also believe that this creature can grow to its size as quickly as eating chicory. These small but abundant prey will help ichthyosaurs to grow exponentially. Due to the time period, scientists believe that the mass extinction at the end of the Permian helped to provide such a rich source of ammonites.
Their findings also convinced scientists that this Triassic predator evolved earlier than whales. Scientists currently believe that whales are the largest animals on earth. There are still many things we don’t know about the evolution of marine animals. Scientists may be able to learn more from the discovery of this new ichthyosaur. Specifically, they may learn more about the evolutionary trajectory followed by marine life. This particle Triassic predator lived millions of years ago. However, its fossil may be a new door of understanding that we could not achieve before. Moreover, it may not be unique.
In the summary and conclusion of the study, the researchers pointed out that the environment at the time may support multiple organisms of the same size. In addition, the abundance of pyrethroids may help promote the exponential growth of ichthyosaurs soon after their origin.
Complete News Source : yucatan Times
