21 de dezembro de 2011

Fossils of an extinct giant have been dicovered in Tasmania

An artist's impression of a dicynodont living in the lush forests of its time.
Credit: Pat Rick/Kadimaraka
Fossils found in Tasmania have scientists convinced the dicynodont, considered a distant ancestor of mammals, once roamed Australia and survived the Great Extinction.
The 250 million-year-old remains of the 'mammal-like reptile' were discovered by a nature-loving Hobart couple out on a walk.

The bull-sized creature, which scientists say had 10cm-long tusks and somewhat resembled a giant wombat, lived through an event sometimes called the Great Dying between the Permian and Triassic periods.

The disaster wiped out 90 per cent of land-based life and 70 per cent of that in the seas. The dicynodont pre-dated dinosaurs by 30 million years and became extinct around 20 million years ago.more here

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