By piecing together fragments of an ancient skull, scientists have successfully recreated the appearance of a creature they call the “killer tadpole” or “hell tadpole”, which lived 330 million years ago during the Carboniferous period.
The creature, named Crassigyrinus scoticus, has been known and named by scientists for over a decade, but no one has been able to provide a specific image of its appearance because all the fossil fragments collected were severely crushed.
Appearance of the 330-million-year-old “killer tadpole” – (Image: UCL).
However, advancements in CT scanning and 3D imaging have enabled researchers from University College London (UCL) to successfully conduct an intricate “puzzle” reconstruction, “resurrecting” the ancient monster in a vivid digital portrait, according to Live Science.
They had to use a CT scanner to piece together four clusters of shattered fossils from four different specimens to carry out the virtual resurrection of the creature.
Previous studies suggested that this monster was a four-legged animal related to the first creatures that moved from water to land around 400 million years ago.
However, the latest survey indicates that Crassigyrinus scoticus was likely a water-dwelling creature, and it is possible that its ancestors had a reverse migration: They did come ashore during evolution, but then decided to return to the water, becoming the lords of the coal swamps.
The coal swamps are wetland areas that later became large coal mines in what is now Scotland and North America.
This virtual “resurrection” also revealed that the approximately 3-meter-long creature had a relatively flat body and short limbs, somewhat resembling a South American crocodile. A size of 3 meters was colossal at the time, as reptiles had not yet evolved into the large forms that would later become dinosaurs.
Therefore, this monster was truly a tyrant in its era, with specimens collected dating back to 330 million years.
Reconstruction process of the monster’s skull – (Image: UCL).
The newly reconstructed face also shows it had large eyes for visibility in murky waters, and lateral line organs similar to fish, which are sensory systems that help aquatic animals detect small vibrations.
A gap remains in front of the creature’s snout, believed to be the location for attaching organs responsible for another special sense, enhancing its predatory capabilities.
This research was recently published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
