Researchers have found the remains of the most ancient animal that lived on the planet before the dinosaurs. During the age of dinosaurs, about 200 million years ago, the first mammals appeared. But their lineage goes back even further, to an ancient group called therapsids. Many ancient therapsids looked very vaguely like modern mammals, but they shared key features. For example, they had openings in the sides of their skulls where jaw muscles attached, and they had jaw bones that later evolved into the distinctive middle ear bones of modern mammals. Researchers have recently discovered the oldest known fossils of a therapsid. The ancient predator resembled a dog with sabre-like teeth and stands at the origins of mammal evolution. The fossil found is a member of a group called gorgonopsians. “Gorgonopsians are much more closely related to mammals than to any other living animals. Although gorgonopsians are not our direct ancestors, they are related to species that were our direct ancestors,” says co-author Ken Angielczyk. This figure from the paper shows the fossil bones that were found in the new gorgonopsian. Credit: Matamales-Andreu et al, illustration by Eudald Mujal / SMNS Until recently, remains of gorgonopsians were found that lived approximately 265 million years ago. The new fossil dates back to 270-280 million years ago. “We think this is likely the oldest gorgonops on the planet,” said senior author Josep Fortuny. The ancient fossil was discovered on Mallorca, a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea. During the time of the Gorgonopsians, the island was part of the supercontinent Pangaea. “The number of preserved Gorgonops bones is impressive. We found everything from skull fragments, vertebrae and ribs, to a preserved femur. We couldn’t even hope to find such a quantity of remains when we started excavating in this region,” admits ICP researcher and first author of the paper Rafel Matamales. Such a rich find allowed scientists to reconstruct the animal’s appearance, as well as learn some details about its life. “If you saw this animal on the street, it might remind you of a medium-sized dog, but that’s where the similarities would end. This animal would not have fur, nor would it have ears like dogs. This is the oldest animal on Earth ever found, and it had long, blade-like fangs,” Angielczyk adds. The saber-shaped teeth indicate that gorgonopsians were apex predators in their time. The post Remains of an Ancient Animal That Lived Before the Dinosaurs Found appeared first on Anomalien.com.