Tag Archives: skeletal design

Ancient Meat-Loving Predators Survived for 35-Million Years

Lived through period of species extinction

A species of ancient predator with saw-like teeth, sleek bodies and a voracious appetite for meat survived a major extinction at a time when the distant relatives of mammals ruled the earth.

A detailed description of a fossil that scientists identify as a varanopid “pelycosaur” is published in the December issue of Naturwissenschaften – The Science of Nature. Professors Sean Modesto from Cape Breton University, a U of T alumnus, and Robert Reisz from University of Toronto Mississauga provide evidence that a group of ancient, agile predators called varanopids survived for more than 35 million years and co-existed with more advanced animals. (more…)

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