The multifariousness on life sentence on Earth today is wondrous to lay eyes on . So it ’s not a huge surprise that prehistoric being were just as varied and outlandish . Paleontologists have identified the possessor of some very strange fossilise remains : a crocodile - sized , mallet - headed , vegetarian ocean reptile with oarlock - like front dentition . The researchers bring out their report today in the journalScience Advances .
The Middle Triassic species calledAtopodentatus unicus(“unique , strange - toothed " ) was first unearth and described in Wushan , China in 2014 . At the clip , researchers believe the animal ’s fossilized remains demonstrate grounds of a flamingo - like neb , which the ancient animal might have used to scoop up worms and other bugs from the ocean trading floor . “ It is obvious that such delicate teeth are not strong enough to enamour prey , ” the scientistswrotein their report , “ but were likely used as a roadblock to dribble microorganism or benthic invertebrate such as ocean worms . ”
Just one year by and by , another twoAtopodentatusfossils egress from a jab in Beijing . These fogy were in better chassis than the first one , with intelligibly describe jaw and neb . But even with that extra material to work with , researcher still were n’t totally sure what they were looking at . So they got out the foxiness supplies .
Image Credit:(c ) Olivier Rieppel , The Field Museum
“ To fancy out how the jaw fit together and how the animal actually fed , we bought some fry ’s remains , kind of like Play - Doh , and reconstruct it with toothpicks to represent the teeth , ” co - source and Field Museum conservator of evolutionary biology Olivier Rieppel enounce in a press statement . “ We reckon at how the upper and lower jaw locked together , and that ’s how we proceed and discover it . ”
Image course credit : ( c ) Nick Fraser , National Museums Scotland
They realise that , rather than a beak , A. unicus ’s face ended in a hammer - headed snoot studded with peg - alike teeth in the front and acerate leaf - like teeth in the back . With a void - shaped face like that , the investigator say , Atopodentatuswas probably more interested in Hoovering up water industrial plant than digging for dirt ball .
Image credit : ( c ) Y. Chen , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
“ It used the peg - same front teeth to scrape plant off of stone on the sea flooring , and then it spread out its mouth and sucked in the bits of plant life material,“Rieppel said . " Then , it used its needle - like teeth as a sieve , trap the plants and allow the body of water back out . ”
A routine of sea beast , including baleen giant , use filter - feeding system , Rieppel continued , “ butAtopodentatusis sometime than them by about eight million years . ”
A. unicus ’s old age is significant not just for this coinage , but as an indicator of the planet during its life-time . The three fossil are around 242 million year old , which places the living creature on Earth not too long after a raft extinction event . “ Animals living the years ring the Permian - Triassic extinguishing aid us see how living on earthly concern reacted to that issue , ” Rieppel said . “ The being of specialized animals likeAtopodentatus unicusshows us that life regain and diversified more quickly than previously remember . "
