The discovery of the largest marine skull reveals the first known giant beast on Earth

Study time: 2 minutes – Spot on Newatlas.com, Science.org

2 m skull and gigantic spine. No, this is not the fossil of Godzilla, but rather the fossil of a giant aquatic creature. In the Augusta Mountains of Nevada, a team of scientists recently discovered the bones of a new model.ichtyosaure, Called “Cymbospondylus youngorum”.

The skull, spine, shoulders and part of the forearm were in good condition, much to everyone’s surprise. A miracle for a creature that lived on Earth about 246 million years ago. Dating from the Middle Triassic (Early period of the Second Era), Ichthyosaurs dominated the oceans, while dinosaurs inhabited the land.

Cymbospondylus youngorum is similar in all respects to its ichthyosau congeners, except for its size. Its body – dolphin skin, long muzzle, fins including spine – extends over 17 meters. It would be the largest animal known to the earth at that time today. The discovered skull is currently on display at the Los Angeles County Natural History Museum.

Common points with whale

The uniqueness of the Igdosers is their early evolution. The first specimens appeared about three million years before Cymbospondylus youngorum. This discovery prompted him to reach this level under certain conditions, but what?

Six million years ago, the Earth experienced the worst species extinction in its history. Different ecological spaces were filled with animals of different sizes, and then prey boom occurred. According to scientists, this abundant food creature can quickly grow into a predator.

Cymbospondylus youngorum shares many things in common with the largest species in our modern environment: the whale. Both species went for survival strategies. Their body shapes are similar to each other and their evolutionary pattern is similar. However, the pace of this change is not uniform. It took the Triassic giant only 3 million years to reach the size we know, but it took the whale 55 million years or 90% of its history to get there. Mentioned on the Science and Avenir website. Although the Cymbospondylus youngorum is considered the world’s first giant animal, the whale still retains the title of the largest living animal on Earth.