By Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
September 14, 2023
265 million years ago, Pampaphoneus biccai was South Americas peak predator. Artistic reconstruction of Pampaphoneus biccai.
Dinosaurs are typically celebrated as the most powerful and enormous predators in the record of nature. Nevertheless, 40 million years before their reign, Pampaphoneus biccai was the undeniable apex predator of South America, reigning as the biggest and most savage meat eater of its age.
In a new study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, a global team of scientists revealed the astounding discovery of a 265-million-year-old, exquisitely maintained fossil species, Pampaphoneus biccai, discovered in the backwoods of São Gabriel, Southern Brazil.
The sensational fossil consists of a complete skull and some skeletal bones, such as ribs and arm bones. Pampaphoneus, which comes from the early therapsid clade called dinocephalians, lived just before the biggest termination event in the history of Earth that got rid of 86% of all animal types worldwide.
Before the termination event, dinocephalians were one of the significant groups of big terrestrial animals that prospered on land. Dinocephalians had thick cranial bones, which led to the groups name which translates to “terrible head” in Greek.
Skull of the brand-new Pampaphoneus biccai specimen. Credit: Felipe Pinheiro
” The fossil was discovered in middle Permian rocks, in a location where bones are not so common, but constantly hold enjoyable surprises,” said lead author Mateus A. Costa Santos, a graduate trainee in the Paleontology Laboratory at the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA). “Finding a brand-new Pampaphoneus skull after so long was very essential for increasing our knowledge about the animal, which was previously difficult to separate from its Russian loved ones.”
Paleontologists from UNIPAMPA and Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) gathered the fossil over one month of everyday, backbreaking fieldwork. Due to the pandemic, it took an additional 3 years for the fossil to be cleaned and thoroughly studied. Co-author Professor Stephanie E. Pierce, in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and Mammalogy in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, got involved in the research study of the animal as part of her existing deal with senior author and head of lab Professor Felipe Pinheiro, UNIPAMPA, on the Permo-Triassic fossil record of Brazil.
” This animal was a gnarly-looking beast, and it should have stimulated sheer fear in anything that crossed its path,” stated Pierce. “Its discovery is crucial to providing a glance into the community structure of terrestrial ecosystems just prior to the biggest mass extinction of all time. An amazing find that shows the international value of Brazils fossil record.”
Collection of the brand-new material in 2019. Credit: Felipe Pinheiro
The new specimen is just the 2nd Pampaphoneus skull ever discovered in South America. It is likewise larger than the very first and offers unmatched info about its morphology due to the exceptional conservation of its bones.
” Pampaphoneus played the same eco-friendly role as modern-day big felines,” stated Pinheiro. “It was the largest terrestrial predator we know of from the Permian in South America. The animal had large, sharp canine teeth adapted for capturing victim. Its dentition and cranial architecture recommend that its bite was strong enough to chew bones, similar to modern-day hyenas.”
Pampaphoneus skull is the largest ever found intact at almost 40cm, research recommends a formerly unknown fossil represents a possible third person that was up to two times larger than the new find. While the latter is just known from a piece of its jaw, it does have sufficient attributes to recognize it as Pampaphoneus.
Researchers approximate that the biggest Pampaphoneus people could reach almost three meters in length and weigh around 400kg. It was an experienced predator capable of feeding on little to medium-sized animals. In the same area where the fossil was found, a few of its possible prey have likewise been determined, such as the small dicynodont Rastodon and the giant amphibian Konzhukovia.
The brand-new Pampaphoneus specimen, in addition to the other animals discovered in this area, show the paleontological capacity of the Pampa region for substantial fossil discoveries.
Reference: “Cranial osteology of the Brazilian dinocephalian Pampaphoneus biccai (Anteosauridae: Syodontinae)” by Mateus A Costa Santos, Voltaire D Paes Neto, Cesar L Schultz, Juan Cisneros, Stephanie E Pierce and Felipe L Pinheiro, 10 September 2023, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.DOI: 10.1093/ zoolinnean/zlad071.
The work was moneyed by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brasil (CAPES), the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), the Harvard Lemann Brazil Research Fund.
265 million years back, Pampaphoneus biccai was South Americas pinnacle predator. A well-preserved fossil found in Brazil offers brand-new insights into this prehistoric giant. Creative restoration of Pampaphoneus biccai. Co-author Professor Stephanie E. Pierce, in the Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology and Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology and Mammalogy in the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard, took part in the study of the animal as part of her existing work with senior author and head of laboratory Professor Felipe Pinheiro, UNIPAMPA, on the Permo-Triassic fossil record of Brazil.
A magnificent find that demonstrates the global importance of Brazils fossil record.”