A series of bizarre and previously unrecorded monsters have emerged, revealing that Earth and its complex evolutionary tree remain a colossal mystery.
1. The “Hybrid Sea Monster” of Wyoming’s “Fossil Ocean”
The strange snake-headed lizard from the U.S. – Photo: Scott Persons, Street & Kelley
With a face like a crocodile, a neck like a snake, a body resembling a dinosaur, and large fins akin to a bizarre fish, this is the description of Serpentisuchops pfisterae, a completely new species of snake-headed lizard identified by American scientists after being “locked away” in a museum for 27 years due to a mistaken classification.
The research team, led by Dr. Walter Scott Persons IV from Charleston University in South Carolina, referred to the creature they resurrected as “a strange, unique beast, a crossover between two species,” alluding to its crocodilian face.
According to SciTech Daily, it is essentially a plesiosaur snake-headed lizard that lived approximately 101 to 66 million years ago, boasting a neck length of up to 7 meters, despite its relatively small body size.
2. The “Triassic Frankenstein” of Brazil
“Frankenstein of the Triassic” – (Photo: Matheus Fernandes / Universidade Federal de Santa Maria).
According to Sci-News, a nearly complete right side fossil of a strange creature from the Triassic period has allowed scientists to refine the fossil record and identify a new species that appears to be an odd mix of various other species. It has been named Stenoscelida aurantiacus and belongs to the Proterochampsidae family, a large group of extinct reptiles endemic to South America.
The research team, led by paleontologist Rodrigo Temp Müller from the Federal University of Santa Maria (Brazil), has reconstructed this creature, resulting in an image of a monster with a massive dinosaur-like body, a crocodile-like head, powerful human-like limbs, and five-fingered front feet similar to a hand, as reported in a study published in November 2021.
3. T. Rex’s Rival
Meraxes gigas – (Photo: Carlos Papolio).
In July 2022, scientists from the Ernesto Bachmann Paleontology Museum and the National University of Río Negro (Argentina) announced the discovery of a completely new dinosaur species named Meraxes gigas, weighing over 4 tons and measuring 11 meters long. It was identified from fossils excavated in the Huincul Formation in Las Campanas Canyon, Neuquén province, Argentina.
Meraxes gigas is a carnivorous monster resembling the Tyrannosaurus rex, with strong hind legs, reduced forelimbs, and a large head with terrifying teeth. The specimen dates back 94 million years, living during the Late Cretaceous period, which was also the peak time for T. rex. Despite their similarities and both belonging to a larger group known as theropod dinosaurs, Meraxes and T. rex belong to two very different branches of the dinosaur family tree.
4. The Giant Bear-Dog in France
The bear-dog from 12 million years ago in France – (Photo: Denny Navarra).
Named Tartarocyon cazanavei, this creature belongs to the Amphicyonidae family, a group of carnivorous mammals characteristic of ancient Europe. This bizarre creature that roamed France 12 million years ago appears to be a direct hybrid between a dog and a bear, hence its colloquial name as the bear-dog. It weighed up to 320 kg and was extremely ferocious.
This completely extinct lineage was studied by a team of scientists led by Dr. Bastien Mennecart, a paleontologist from the Basel Natural History Museum (Switzerland), with findings published online in PeerJ in June 2022.
5. The Otter that Hunted Crocodiles
The monstrous otter compared in size to modern humans, Australopithecus, and contemporary otters – (Photo: Université de Poitiers).
The reason behind this is the “monster” otter unearthed from the Shungura and Usno formations in the Lower Omo Valley, Northwestern Ethiopia, which could grow as large as a lion, weighing up to 200 kg.
Named Enhydriodon omoensis, this creature coexisted with our famous ancestor – Australopithecus – between 3.5 to 2.5 million years ago. It represents a new species within the extinct genus Enhydriodon and is the largest otter to have ever walked the Earth. Living alongside riverbanks, it was capable of hunting and feeding on crocodiles and turtles, thanks to its powerful teeth and more terrestrial than amphibious characteristics.
