Published January 7, 2013
Summery:
A new type of sea monster was found in Nevada. It was evolved to eat prey it's own size. While this might not seem that special if you think about dragonflies and the like, this Triassic Monster was 28 ft long. That's about the size of a bus! It is called Thalattoarchon It was part of the ichthyosaur family, whose members look a lot like modern dolphins but are fish. The skeleton was found in 1998, but only the body was found. As the digging crew was leaving on the last day, they noticed the monster's teeth. After 10 or so years the crew came back to excavate the rest of the fossil. The skull that was found was massive and it was filled with large teeth. The teeth were found to be capable of tearing apart prey the size of the of itself. Sea predators capable of doing this today include orcas and great white sharks. Also, the discovery of Thalattoarchon shows how the earth is capable of recovering from mass extinctions. Since this creature existed only eight million years after the largest mass extinction in the history of the earth, the Permian extinction, it is possible to tell that the oceanic ecosystem became very stable in a very short time. The appearance of such a large predator can only mean that the ecosystem evolved enough to support four or five tropic levels.
Connection:
This article connects to evolution. The Thalattoarchon must have evolved in such a way that it was able to support it's size. Perhaps it's powerful teeth and jaws let it hunt in the most efficient method as to use as little energy. It also connects to ecosystem stability, in the way that the appearance of Thalattoarchon, shows a stable ecosystem. Perhaps the reasons behind the stabilization of the Triassic ecosystem, if found, could help to rebuild our own damaged ecosystems.
What allowed this creature to survive the recent mass extinctions when so many other creatures died?
ReplyDeleteWhat has this animal evolved into in modern times?
ReplyDelete