{"id":38219,"date":"2024-05-09T12:37:22","date_gmt":"2024-05-09T10:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/014ac149-ab5b-4ebb-a6ca-21b16d70b328"},"modified":"2024-05-09T13:35:43","modified_gmt":"2024-05-09T11:35:43","slug":"10-prehistoric-mega-species-that-ruled-before-the-dinosaurs","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/10-prehistoric-mega-species-that-ruled-before-the-dinosaurs\/","title":{"rendered":"10 prehistoric mega-species that ruled before the dinosaurs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Meet the bizarre prehistoric animals that once ruled the world – nd they’re not dinosaurs <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Thursday, 09 May 2024 at 10:37 AM<\/p>

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Dinosaurs dominated life on Earth for 180 million years, between the Triassic and the Cretaceous periods. But the animals that came before them paved the way for species that still exist today.\u00a0<\/p>

After the emergence of the first true animals around 700 million years ago, evolution ran amok, creating countless bizarre groups before the dinosaurs finally arrived 450 million years later, says palaeontologist Will Newton. <\/p>

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These pre-dinosaur animals evolved in a very different world to the one we know. This was a world without grass, without flowers; a world that was, for a time, dominated by a single supercontinent surrounded by a vast ocean. From car-sized millipedes to fish that walked on four fleshy fins, here are ten of the wackiest, weirdest and most wonderful animals that lived during this period of Earth\u2019s history.<\/p>
10 prehistoric animals that ruled before the dinosaurs<\/h2>
Anomalocaris<\/h3>
(Lived 520-499 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>An apex predator with alarming appendages<\/p><\/blockquote>
More than half a billion years ago, the world\u2019s oceans were stalked by a soft-bodied predator that looked unlike anything alive today. This bizarre-looking animal was Anomalocaris, or \u2018unusual shrimp\u2019, and is widely regarded as the world\u2019s first apex predator \u2013 the killer whale of its day.<\/p>
Anomalocaris was the largest hunter of the Cambrian period, measuring up to a metre in length from its grasping, frontal appendages to the tips of its tail fans. The appendages are thought to have been used to catch and crush prey.\u00a0<\/p>
For a long time, hard-shelled marine arthropods known as trilobites were assumed to have been Anomalocaris\u2019s favourite snack, but new research has suggested that this predator was more of a weakling, incapable of cracking tough trilobite armour. It\u2019s now believed Anomalocaris was a hunter that relied on speed, agility and superior sight rather than strength. It probably targeted other fast, soft-bodied animals that lived in open water.<\/p>
Arthropleura<\/h3>
(Lived 345-290 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
Getty video<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The largest invertebrate to ever walk the Earth<\/p><\/blockquote>
Before vertebrates established their dynasty on land, the arthropods \u2013 a huge group that includes insects<\/a>, spiders and crustaceans \u2013 ruled unchallenged. Largest among them was Arthropleura, a 2.6m-long, mulch-eating millipede that roamed the beaches and forests of ancient England.<\/p>
This giant creepy-crawly lived during the Carboniferous period, a time when sprawling rainforests acted as the Earth\u2019s \u2018lungs\u2019, drawing in carbon dioxide and breathing out masses of oxygen. It\u2019s thought there was 5-10 per cent more oxygen in the air during this time, which is one reason why Arthropleura grew so large. Another was lack of competition. It took another 40 million years and a worldwide rainforest collapse before distant ancestors of Tiktaalik began to outcompete arthropod.<\/p>
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Inostrancevia<\/h3>
(Lived 259-251.9 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
$\"\"$ Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
\u00a0A sabre-toothed ancestor of modern mammals<\/p><\/blockquote>
Cross a polar bear<\/a> with a sabre-tooth cat, and you\u2019d get something resembling Inostrancevia. It was a protomammal, an ancient ancestor of today\u2019s modern mammals, like Dimetrodon, but looked very different \u2013 less like a reptile and more like a big cat<\/a>. It also had longer legs than Dimetrodon, which suggests it was a runner \u2013 and a fast one at that.<\/p>
Inostrancevia had sabre-shaped canines that could land killer blows on the necks of megaherbivores such as Scutosaurus. As a protomammal, its jaws were packed with other kinds of teeth, too, but these weren\u2019t used for chewing. Instead, Inostrancevia used a \u2018puncture-pull\u2019 strategy, tearing away huge chunks of meat.<\/p>
It\u2019s unknown whether Inostrancevia was covered in scale-like skin, like its ancestors, or fur<\/a>, like its mammalian descendants. That said, researchers have found some clues in coprolites<\/a> (fossilised faeces) that may have been left by them or some close relatives. It\u2019s thought that hair-like structures contained within the coprolites came from smaller members of the same clade, therapsids, that Inostrancevia likely preyed upon. If smaller therapsids had \u2018hair\u2019, then Inostrancevia probably did too.<\/p>
Scutosaurus<\/h3>
(Lived 259-251.9 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
$\"\"$ Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The giant lizard that was built like a bulldog<\/p><\/blockquote>
There weren\u2019t many animals bigger than Scutosaurus during the Late Permian, particularly in the \u2018cold deserts\u2019 of ancient Russia. These forklift-sized reptiles weren\u2019t just long, at around 3m from head to tail, but heavy too, breaking the scales at a whopping 1,100kg \u2013 equivalent to a black rhino<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>
A lot of Scutosaurus\u2019s weight was from a thick layer of rough plates, or osteoderms, that covered almost its entire body. It wasn\u2019t particularly fast or agile, so this bony armour was its main defence against its arch-rival Inostrancevia. To maintain its huge size, Scutosaurus had to eat constantly.<\/p>
Scutosaurus and other large members of the pareiasaur family were among the first megaherbivores to walk the Earth. They were pioneers in a niche that would later be dominated by dinosaurs<\/a> such as Stegosaurus<\/em>, Triceratops<\/em> and Ankylosaurus<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>
Scutosaurus looked a lot like these dinosaurs, but was as distantly related from them as we are from whales and dolphins. Interestingly, Scutosaurus\u2019s closest living relative is another armoured reptile with a similar reputation as a slowcoach: the tortoise<\/a>.<\/p>
Tiktaalik<\/h3>
(Lived 375 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
$\"\"$ Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The fish that led a revolution on land<\/p><\/blockquote>
Fish aren\u2019t typically known for their ability to walk on land, but Tiktaalik wasn\u2019t your typical fish. It was, by definition, a fish, but sporting primitive, air-breathing lungs (as well as gills<\/a>) and four fleshy appendages that resembled limbs, it was well on its way to becoming a fully fledged, terrestrial tetrapod.<\/p>
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From fossils<\/a> found in Arctic Canada, it\u2019s estimated that Tiktaalik grew to lengths of 3m. This huge size, combined with large jaws full of needle-like teeth, a mobile neck and eyes on the top of its head, suggests it was a predator specially adapted for hunting fish in the shallows. Some think it may have even preyed on other, smaller \u2018fishapods\u2019 that lived on the margins between land and water.<\/p>
In pursuit of prey, Tiktaalik relied not only on what it had up top, but underneath too. Unlike most other fish, Tiktaalik had robust fins that could support its weight outside of the water, attached to highly mobile joints. It\u2019s this combination that allowed Tiktaalik and others of its kin to experiment with a life on land.<\/p>
Where Tiktaalik falls on the vertebrate family tree is debated, but there\u2019s no denying that it lived during an important time in the evolution<\/a> of four-limbed animals. From Tiktaalik and its close cousins a new dynasty spawned \u2013 one that would give rise to reptiles, dinosaurs, birds, mammals and, eventually, humans.<\/p>
Dimetrodon<\/h3>
(Lived 295-270 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
Getty video<\/figcaption><\/figure>
A dinosaur lookalike with a hole in the head<\/p><\/blockquote>
Just one look at Dimetrodon and your eyes are immediately drawn to the huge sail on its back \u2013 a feature shared by the iconic dinosaur Spinosaurus. This scaly,\u00a0tiger-sized beast wasn\u2019t a dinosaur\u00a0though. In fact it\u2019s more closely related to us than Spinosaurus.<\/p>
Dimetrodon was a protomammal and had a few features that set it apart from dinosaurs, most of which were found in its skull. Behind its eyes it had a a temporal fenestra, a small hole where lower jaw muscles attach to the skull. Dimetrodon and other protomammals had just one of these; dinosaurs and their ancestors had two. It also had different teeth for different functions, which is where its name Dimetrodon, or \u2018two-measure tooth\u2019, comes from. In contrast, dinosaurs and their ancestors were equipped with rows of identical teeth.<\/p>
Its most iconic feature, though, was that sail. For a long time, researchers thought its function was to regulate body temperature across a range of habitats. It\u2019s now thought the sail was used as a giant billboard to display sexual readiness and scare off rivals.<\/p>
Coelacanth<\/h3>
(Lived 420 m.y.a to the present day<\/em>)<\/p>
$\"\"$ Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The \u2018extinct\u2019 fish that was rediscovered in the 1930s<\/p><\/blockquote>
This elusive fish still inhabits some deep parts of the Indian Ocean, but up until the mid-20th century it was thought to be long-extinct. Then, in 1938, a strange-looking, 1.5m-long fish was caught off the coast of South Africa. After intense deliberation, expert ichthyologist JLB Smith declared it to be a Coelacanth.\u00a0<\/p>
Coelacanth is a not-too-distant cousin of Tiktaalik. It also has four fleshy fins that resemble limbs, but never made the transition to life on land. Instead, it\u2019s thought Coelacanth adapted to life in the deep, sheltering in caves during the day and only venturing out at night to hunt.It\u2019s probably this adaptation that saved Coelacanth from annihilation during four of Earth\u2019s \u2018Big Five\u2019 mass extinctions.<\/p>
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Meganeura<\/h3>
(Lived 305-299 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
$\"\"$ Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
A meat-eating dragonfly the size of a sparrowhawk<\/p><\/blockquote>
With a wingspan measuring more than 70cm, six spindly, spiny legs and huge compound eyes, Meganeura was terrifying enough to scare even the most ardent insect-lover. <\/p>
This four-winged monster is widely regarded as the largest flying insect ever, dwarfing its extant dragonfly relatives. Like many of today\u2019s dragonfly<\/a> species, though, Meganeura lived in open habitats close to ponds and slow-moving streams. It was likely the apex predator in these clearings, using the spines on its legs as a \u2018flying trap\u2019 to ensnare prey ranging from other flying insects to amphibians and even lizard-like vertebrates.<\/p>
Fossils of Meganeura were first discovered in some coal-bearing rocks in France in 1880. These specimens were exceptionally preserved, displaying detailed networks of wing veins, which inspired the name Meganeura, or \u2018large-nerve\u2019.<\/p>
Like Arthropleura, Meganeura is thought to have benefitted from a lack of competition from vertebrates and heightened levels of oxygen during the Carboniferous.<\/p>
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Tanystropheus<\/h3>
(Lived 247-208 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
$\"\"$ Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The real-life \u2018Nessie\u2019 with an extremely long neck <\/p><\/blockquote>
A mass extinction known as the Great Dying took place 251.9 million years ago, wiping out more than 90 per cent of Earth\u2019s species and leaving a lot of empty niches in its wake. Many of the survivors that evolved to fill these niches ended up looking like failed lab experiments, none more so than Tanystropheus \u2013 a 6m-long reptile with a neck longer than its tail and body combined.<\/p>
Tanystropheus was initially misdescribed as a dinosaur, but it was a protorosaur and lived in the Middle Triassic, just before the first dinosaurs. It was long thought to have been too top-heavy to be terrestrial. But more recent studies argue that most of its weight was centred around its body, making it more than capable of walking on land.<\/p>
Dunkleosteus<\/h3>
(Lived 382-358 m.y.a<\/em>)<\/p>
$\"\"$ Getty images<\/figcaption><\/figure>
An armoured fish with a deadly bite<\/p><\/blockquote>
It\u2019s hard to imagine that an animal affectionately known as The Dunk was ever a fearsome predator, but Dunkleosteus was exactly that. For nearly 30 million years it ruled the northern hemisphere\u2019s oceans with an iron first \u2013 or rather, an iron bite.\u00a0<\/p>
This 4m-long armoured fish had a bite force that would have rivalled some of the strongest biters today. At the very tip of its bony fangs, it\u2019s estimated that Dunkleosteus may have been able to bite down at a force of 80,000 psi \u2013 enough to crush some of the strongest steel.<\/p>
Special jaw muscles meant Dunkleosteus was able to open its mouth in less than a 50th of a second, creating a small vacuum that could suck in prey. It outcompeted many early sharks and for a long time dominated the niches that we now associate with sharks such as the great white<\/a>.<\/p>
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Will Newton is a palaeontology graduate from the University of Edinburgh and a lover of all things prehistoric.<\/strong> Follow him @InsidePeloton96<\/a><\/strong><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n
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10 prehistoric animals that ruled before the dinosaurs<\/h2>