A team of archeologists has discovered remains of a mysterious dragon-like creature that lived in the earth before 250 million years. The discovery was made in Russia, and researchers who took part in the excavation revealed that this strange creature had roamed across the earth before the rise of dinosaurs. Researchers who took part in the study stated that this creature belongs to a group of reptiles known as erythrosuchids.
Komodo dragon's pre-historic ancestor?
It should be noted that this beast is apparently a kind of Komodo dragon's pre-historic version. Initial analysis of this creature's fossilized remains suggests that it had a giant head with massive teeth inside its mouth. Researchers noted that these teeth are very similar to steak knives, and it might have helped the dragon to tear its prey into shreds.
Researchers have named this creature 'Garjainia', and it might have roamed all across the world, especially in Eastern Europe, India, China, and South Africa. The study report published in the journal Royal Society Open Science suggested that this giant creature that was at least ten feet tall was alive at the time of the supercontinent Pangaea, a giant landmass which was later broken apart into continents as we know today.
Dominant predators that ruled the earth
"Erythrosuchids are large, predatory meat-eating reptiles that lived shortly after the Permo-Triassic mass extinction, the largest ecological crisis in Earth history. Erythrosuchids were superficially similar to Komodo dragons, that lived in the Triassic, 250 to 240 million years ago. One of the key results of this paper is we demonstrate numerically for the first time that erythrosuchids have hugely oversized heads relative to the rest of the body. Proportionately, their skulls are probably larger than any other group of living or fossil reptiles," said Dr Richard Butler, a researcher at the University of Birmingham, and the lead author of the study, Mirror.co.uk reports.
Butler also made it clear that dinosaurs and this dragon-like creature had not lived together on earth, as the last Garjainia died before the rise of dinosaurs. Researchers also suggested that Garjainia was the most dominant predator on land before dinosaurs started ruling the planet.
A few weeks back, another study conducted by an international team of researchers had discovered evidence of a feathered dinosaur. The discovery was made in Koonwarra, Australia.
