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Raul Martin / National Geographic
An artist's conception shows the ichthyosaur known as Thalattoarchon saurophagis.
A fossil skeleton found in central Nevada's desert years ago has been identified as belonging to a 30-foot-long sea monster that ruled beneath the waves 244 million years ago.
The ferociousness of the creature's teeth suggests that it was at the top of the food chain at the time — and that the time frame for its rise to the top was incredibly quick. The ichthyosaur has been dubbed Thalattoarchon saurophagis (from the Greek for "lizard-eating sovereign of the sea"), and it must have entered its reign just a few million years after one of Earths' biggest die-offs, known as the Permian-Triassic extinction event.
"It is a remarkable biotic recovery that appears to have proceeded faster in the marine than in the terrestrial biota," said Olivier Rieppel, a paleontologist at the Field Museum in Chicago who is a co-author of a paper on Thalattoarchon published online today by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The researchers said Thalattoarchon was apparently the first top predator to emerge in the marine environment after the Permian-Triassic extinction, which is thought to have killed off more than 90 percent of Earth's species. The cause of the extinction is the subject of a long-running debate, with catastrophic climate change among the prime suspects.
Previous studies have suggested that it took 10 million years for Earth's ecosystems to bounce back — but the latest research seems to provide evidence that the comeback was quicker under the sea.
"Ecosystems rebuild from the bottom up, and its appearance in the fossil record indicates the full recovery was reached only 8 million years after the P-T mass extinction," lead author Nadia Fröbisch, a paleontologist at the Leibniz Institute for Research on Evolution and Biodiversity's Museum für Naturkunde in Germany, said in an email. "The macropredator niche has been occupied ever since Thalattoarchon appeared — with different players, but the ecosystem structure was essentially modern."
John Weinstein / Field Museum
A jaw full of 5-inch, knife-edged teeth let this ichthyosaur tear into prey.
Nicole Klein / University of Bonn
The shape of Thalattoarchon's tooth crown with its two cutting edges, as seen here in the field, indicates that the ichthyosaur was a meat eater, not a fish eater.
The empire that this sea monster ruled was far different from present-day Nevada.
"At the time, all land masses were united in the supercontinent Pangea," Fröbisch explained. "Nevada was located in the Panthalassian Ocean, to the west of the supercontinent. The climate was very warm at the time, especially in the equatorial region, though this was slightly farther north. However, the climate would still be considered tropical. The Rockies started to rise in the late Cretaceous [66 million to 100 million years ago] and ended in the Eocene, about 35 million years ago."
The Thalattoarchon fossil was discovered in Nevada's Augusta Mountains in 1997 during a field expedition led by Rieppel and Martin Sander of the University of Bonn's Steinmann Institute — and since then, paleontologists have excavated a partial skeleton, including most of the skull, parts of the pelvic girdle and pieces from the hind fins.
The 5-inch-long (12-centimeter-long) teeth served as the tip-off for the creature's top-predator status. "The cutting edges were previously unknown for ichthyosaurs of that age," Fröbisch said. "The teeth are very large and sit in very robust and strong jaws, which overall indicate high biting force. This ichthyosaur was able to seize and cut prey similar in size to its own."
In a Field Museum news release, Rieppel said the discovery was "a good example of how we study the past in order to illuminate the future." So does this research suggest that a new top predator might emerge relatively quickly after the next mass extinction?
"Hmm — not really," Rieppel replied in an email. "History is inherently contingent — i.e., not predictive — and, as they say, it does not need to repeat itself."
But by studying how species recovered after past extinctions, "one hopes that certain patterns or generalities would become apparent that would reveal rules about the way a biota reconstitutes itself after a catastrophic impact," he said.
In today's news release, Fröbisch also emphasized the lessons that the distant past can teach us about the present and future.
"Every day, we learn more about the biodiversity of our planet, including living and fossil species and their ecosystems," she said. "The new find characterizes the establishment of a new and more advanced level of ecosystem structure. Findings like Thalattoarchon help us to understand the dynamics of our evolving planet, and ultimately the impact humans have on today's environment."
More about ancient sea monsters:
- Huge sea monster ruled ancient rivers
- 'Predator X' sea monster gets a name
- Fossilized blob mystifies scientists
- Shark vs. sea monster: Who won?
In addition to Nadia Fröbisch, Sander and Rieppel, the authors of "Macropredatory Ichthyosaur From the Middle Triassic and the Origin of Modern Trophic Networks" include Jörg Fröbisch and Lars Schmitz. The fieldwork was funded by grants from the National Geographic Society's Committee for Research and Exploration, the Field Museum of Natural History and the University of Bonn.
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
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Thalattoarchon saurophagis in the sewers!
sounds like global warming from over 244 million years ago caused the great sea to evaporate exposing the a great sea monster and the great myth of man's involvement in causing the earth to heat up, while I type this wearing a jacket freezing my ass off !
Mike on the off chance that was not satirical,
incorrect. Global cooling did that. As the ice caps formed sea levels receded drastically. As the ice caps melt ocean levels will return to their natural pre-ice age levels (or at least near to it).
@bull,
remember not to flush your gold fish down the crapper, or baby alligators for that matter.
Now we know where Harry Reid is coming from. No wonder.........., he sure did not develop right.
Gee mike, speaking of mythology, maybe that was Jonah's big fish? Or maybe Jesus rode on the backs of these 2000 years ago?
@Mike - Please educate yourself on the difference between some cold weather in your local area (global warming is about more extreme temperatures and shifting patterns in both warmer and colder directions, not just everything getting warmer) and overall climate conditions.
Also please educate yourself on the difference between natural changes over the course of millions of years and man-made climate changes over the course of decades or centuries. The evidence is overwhelming. Please stop spreading myths. Thank you.
...global warming is about more extreme temperatures and shifting patterns in both warmer and colder directions, not just everything getting warmer) and overall climate conditions.
Well, that's how the theory goes anyway. No supporting documentation or sources to verify this theory, unfortunately. Quit spreading lies. Thank you.
Well, I was told at the Creationism Museum that Adam and Eve rode triceratops 6,000 years ago with saddles, so I just don't see how this makes sense. (sticks head in sand)
Sounds like the basis for a real estate pitch in Nevada: Get it now, get it cheap! Untouched ocean shore-front property right here in Nevada! Kick back and watch the sea monsters from your own backyard!
And it's pronounced Ne-va-duh not Ne-Vah-Duh
That was my first thought too - sounds like a new casino is in order.
If you can tell how he pronounces Nevada from a text message then, damn, you're good!
Gee--I think I work with some of this critter's decendents!
Wait. You mean sea levels were higher than they are now? Naturally? And it was warmer too? Naturally?
Yes, sea levels were higher. The earth was warmer. Not surprisingly, there were no humans around.
??? ... land masses where in a dramatiacally different locations and just from that can cause warmer climates and regions as to where they are located today... plus if it was a "natural" event such as volcanic or metoric that caused mass extinction then thats what it was.
economykiller, please tell me that you are not really that stupid. You KNOW that all climate scientists are well aware of the past "natural" climate changes, so why do you think it is relevant to whether humans can affect the climate ALSO?
You are either unbelievably stupid or purposely dishonest.
244million years ago the earth was different.
It's important for us all to educate ourselves about the science of climate change. People, whether being sarcastic or just ignorant, make posts like this and they can influence low-information individuals who are not aware that climate science very much takes into account historical changes over millions of years. That does not mean that the climate would be ideal for humans or that we are not causing a dramatic shift with pollution over the course of decades.
Climate change is a fact, the exact causes for it are still under debate. It's much involved than the total amount geenhouse gases in the atmosphere, rigg. Much more. You really need to study the science, or lack thereof, of these presumptions.
SheldonAdelsonnottodon
Always looking for an out are'nt you economykiller and you other global warming deniers.
I'm waiting for sea level to get back to that level so we don't need to hear about NYC any more.
Yeah - then we can start worrying about which hurricane will be making landfall in Philadelphia instead.
If by naturally, you mean the earth was hit by an asteroid that caused planetary chaos and extinction of untold species. yes, naturally. you ignorant trash. go believe in creationism and stop impeding actual learning and education.
i want to ride one of them.. too bad..
Then they evolved and became casino owners and politicians.
There's something fishy about this story .
I know ... they never show the saddle.
Read;
Dr. Walt Brown
And the Genesis Record by Dr. Henry Morris
I grew up immersed in Christianity yet no one ever - ever - denied evolution or the timescale of hundreds of millions of years. When did so much ignorance creep into our educational system?
rigg, that's actually an interesting question (I think). I don't have an answer, but it could have been during the 'born again, Jesus freak' days that a whole anti-science movement got an impetus. Their idea of being faithful to God the Father is to affect a supposedly 'childlike' ignorance, which I gather they equate with innocence.
Not sure when it got back into the educational system, but it has its roots in the evangelical Christian belief that the Bible is the literal truth. That kind of thinking predates Darwin and has never really gone away. Many Christians remain open minded about science, the age of the universe, evolution of life, etc., but they seem for the past couple of decades at least to have been shouted down by the "True Believers".
It also tends to come and go, with things like the monkey trial occurring every so often. If I had to guess at a cause I would guess it tends to fluctuate when people are largely uncertain about the world, which could be linked to economic technological environmental, political. Because it is true that many Christians haven't had problems with science before(reconciling the two I mean).
It could also be isolationism, in the world we are in today, we tend to listen to our own voices only and exclude all other opposition, we can safely ignore the opposition create a world where we are right and all others are wrong.
For this part I would lay the blame at technological innovations like the internet(which allow us to only filter information we like), and economic disruptions which causes disruptions in families causing them to move away which causes a tighter hold on their beliefs.
Maybe but its really all guesses on my part.
I think alot of the problem lies in this..We as 'humans" tend to think in "human" terms..I think{correct me if I'm wrong} there is a place in the Bible that refers to God making the Earth and stars and everything within in 6 days and says a day is as a thousand years..So naturally we being "humans" think that means the earth and everything else is 6000 years..But here IS the problem in my eyes..Does the Bible mean 6000 years in "human' years or 6000 years in GODS years...Remember if you've been around since the beginning of time and will be here when time is no more, then 6000 years in that context is a LONG,LONG time..Just a different view of things and something to think about..But this is really a guess on my part too I reckon...
I would be remiss if I didn't smack around global warming and show you in the Bible what it says about sea life... BUT I'll give you free thinkers and HCGW guys a break today...
It is a fascinating find and from the article it seems that there are much more fossils to be found in the dig. God Bless yall.
I just love stories like these. No politics. No BS. Just science, yaaaaaa Science!
Well, it seems like not much has changed as "monsters" still rule the Nevada deserts ... most commonly known as the DARPA-sauraus; the CIA-raptors, also known as water board raptors; and the flying terraforcedactlys also called the droneasaurus!
Equals.... 244-thousand millennia ago.
I wonder if Thalattoarchon saurophagis had an immortal soul, and is now swimming in an endless sea, forever praising the great Savior Fish of the Eternal Oceans. (Bummer for the fish's food, however. They must have been towel-headed pagan fish.)
We'll need to ask the Flying Spaghetti Monster.
Can you imagine the fly fishing...
Yes it would be interesting to say the least, and imagine the bait you'd have to use to get one.
An event like this is going to happen again, but after the ocean's rise when perm frost melts across the globe. where will 10 billion people go when there is less land mass?
This is just a WILD guess but....Inland???
according to radical christians the earth is only 6,000 yrs old.
Not radical Christian thinking....Everyone has grown up reading books saying the world is millions of years old, but science(which I love) still cannot prove the world is millions of years old. Please don't throw carbon14 dating or radioisotope dating in my face. If you know anything about these theories and practices, you'll see where they have never been proven true fact(people watch too much TV, and don't really research anything anymore---WOW! That's cool! It must be true!). Not here to fight, but someone prove me otherwise: invent a time machine and I'll go back millions of years with you.....
Dinosaur bones not good enough evidence for you either erik??
Mountain heights, times how fast they grow, not good enough?
The life of the sun, and the formation of the earth evidence not good enough?
I can go on if you want. You attempted to sound intelligent, but failed miserably.
erik, we don't need a time machine; we have science. Try it sometime.
Interesting philosophical argument, problem with it if you argue it, then how can you prove anything even a few seconds ago, if we cannot directly observe something than it is not valid, is the assumption, than I could say nothing existed up till a few minutes ago, or that because we cannot directly observe Christ, he never existed, and so forth, if you argue you need the equivalent of a time machine than nearly everything we know in the past doesn't exist either.
To TFNJ...Religion is Not the know all, and this might just come to a BIG shock to you, but neither is SCIENCE....You seem to automatically dismiss religion as not being accurate but seem to defend science as an ABSOLUTE truth...Just one question...How many "theories or discoveries" have science made in the last 50 to 100 years that have been proved totally WRONG or had to be revised?
I'll give you one example: The Paluxy River discoveries that clearly show 'human" foot prints along side dinosaur foot prints..Now if dinosaurs were extinct 65 million years ago and man hasn't been but around for 2 million or so, then what does science tell us happened?? ..I know..the dinosaur MUST of had a 'fake" human foot print on one of its paws "faking" a human print, much like we fake "big foot" feet print today...right? Read my post above #12.5
A HELL of a lot less than religious ones. This whacky science you don't want to believe is making it possible for you to type your comment, and me to read it.
Your example case is just stupid, and I'm not sure where you would have read that except religious circles. No scientist is going to claim that a human foot print was created at the same time as a dinosaurs. That is jut stupidity beyond words, and I can't believe you posted that.
To TFNJ : Show me ANYWHERE in my post that I STATED that I DIDNT believe in SCIENCE will you please??? I simply pointed out to you that you seem to discredit Religion as not being totally true and then proceeded to defend science as a "total undeniable truth"...ANYONE that knows ANYTHING about science and their MANY discoveries knows that they can sometimes be proven totally WRONG...As my EXAMPLE #2 below clearly demonstrates..
Do two things for me..#1 Use the GREATEST of scientific discoveries{The internet} and google "Out of place artifacts" and sift through the articles..You might just learn something useful..
#2 ..USEING FOSSIL RECORDS,The Fish named Colacanth was throught by SCIENCE to be EXTINCT 65 MILLION YEARS AGO..Yet we NOW KNOW this is NOT the case at all BECAUSE there were LIVE SPECIMINS found in 1938..And more reciently in 1986...And yet again in 2002..And I didnt find this "Information" circulating in some whacky religious circles..GOOGLE IT!! So I guess THIS too is STUPID beyone words?
And again your last point is stupid! Just because a mistake was made in some research doesn't make science false or misleading, as in your bible or religion. And I say "your" because you stared this completely stupid conversation comparing scientific evidence to a fairy tale book. So it must mean you believe it, otherwise why waste my time.
I don't have to google what you sugegst, I have watched Ancient Aliens many times. It seems thay have done all the work you are looking for. Except replace Aliens with God, and you are good to go.
I can see right now you have no room in your tiny little brain to even remotely consider the possibility that you might be WRONG..You talk about believing in God, and thats what you seem to have ..A GOD complex..
Putting ALL discussions of religion and the BIBLE aside, I simply point out to you that SCIENCE is in some instances WRONG and you seem to be incapable of accepting this FACT..AGAIN..Where did I say in ANY of my POSTS that SCIENCE is FALSE???????????????????
So I give up trying to make a point to you..I'd have a better chance of toppeling the Empire state Building with a spoon....your right..DARWIN WAS GOD...HE WAS THE ONLY ABSOLUTE IN THE UNIVERSE..And SCIENCE is the VERY AIR WE BREATHE...
It might just suprise you though that DARWIN was a VERY RELIGIOUS man and DID believe in GOD and the CREATION THEORY UNTIL his FATHER DIED thus being ANGRY because of his FATHERS DEATH he turned the other way... I WOULD tell you to GOOGLE IT AND READ, but you dont have to Google it, you watched ANCIENT ALIENS on the History chanel ...Right?
It is an idiotic point to try and make, and since it is, it devalues anything you have to say. I was almost hoping you were joking.
Darwin, and our fellow scientists, are just people. Thats it. They have flaws just like everyone else. When you find a person that can answer every detail of life without fault, you let me know. Otherwise, I don't see the point in comparing scientists to religion, or why in your obviously puny mind you feel they are opposing forces.
One is something you go to college for, the other is supersticious beliefs handed down since practically cave days.
I'll TRY this one last time... Show me WHERE did I say, or try or did Compare Religion to SCIENCE??
Can you please try and understand that simple fact?...I'll say it again...I am NOT comparing RELIGION to SCIENCE..
You seem to think that both cant exist at one time and thats simply wrong..Its either or with you..You feel just as stongly about SCIENCE as others feel about RELIGION..Who is RIGHT? There are points to be made for BOTH sides....I'm not TRYING to support ONE view over the OTHER can you please understand that? SHOW ME WHERE i SAY THAT THEY ARE OPPOSING FORCES???
If you dont believe in the Bible,or Religion of ANY sort,you have the perfect right to do so..I for one BELIEVE in BOTH SCIENCE AND RELIGION..There is room for BOTH in my mind and NEITHER one can DISPROVE the other 100%...And if you think one can, please by all mean give me the examples..
what you just wrote about Darwin and other scientist being just people and have flaws are the EXACT example of what I just wrote to you just a post or two back...People make MISTAKES..People form theories that are later PROVEN to be MISTAKEN..Just because this happens doesnt mean I believe that ALL science is FALSE ..SCIENCE, like ever thing else on this planet is EVOLVING..Thats a word that I kNOW you can Comprehend
Then why are you wasting your precious moments speaking to me?? Nothing better to do?
Something tells me you don't mean it. You will insist on this futile mission to convince me a fairy tale is a true story. And then suggest that if I appreciate science, I should also give religion a try. I would think that if someone annoyed you by pushing some silly belief on you, you would wonder why they kept trying after you objected.
Listen..I don't give a flying fat pigs F U C K whether you believe in Religion or not..Don't flatter yourself, I could care less what you believe in or don't believe in trust me, you're NOT that important..You're just a small little insignificant pos in the realm of of the universe, just like I am.... I simply tried to make the point that SCIENCE is not ALWAYS exactly RIGHT, and you seemed hell bent on launching a crusade to prove that my true agenda is to somehow make you believe in Religion..Like I said..I don't give a F U C K what you believe in..So in the immortal words of Frankenstein...F U C K O F F
And you're right..I'm tired of wasting my precious moments on speaking to you..I'd rather watch paint dry..more entertaining
LOL, that's the reaction I was looking for.
I'm trying to imagine Calvin and Hobbes trying to deal with one. T. rex is so much easier to spell.
(Would Thalattoarchon saurophagis be the Aquaman equivalent of the Super Dinos?)
Try to say Thalattoarchon saurophagis fast three times!
How can this possibly be? I thought the earth was only 6000 years old? Well that just ruined my whole day. /sarcasm
Don't tell the Mayans.
6000 years old in "Human" years...OR...6000 years old in "GOD" years.. Think about it..
One thing is made clear from this story. Life is very hard to extinguish completely. It keeps coming back and starts to diversify yet again here on planet Earth after several extinction events. 65 million years ago the big, bad asteroid smoked the large dinosaurs, but some little ones survived and became what we call birds. With the big guys gone, little mammals proliferated and and eventually evolved to became us.
Much earlier, tetrapods had evolved from fish to become four-legged vertebrates leading to these small mammals. The story of the Tiktaalik if very interesting. Life very much wants to persist. That is why I have no worries about humans and the supposed calamities that climate change might cause. They will either adapt to whatever comes planetwise...or die off.
The monsters are still alive in Nevada. A little more sophisticated, but deadly just the same. Sin City will eat you alive just as fast.
All the methane from dinosaur farts caused the seas to recede.... Harry Reid, a rare fossilized dinosaur fart still walking the earth.
Kudos bagdadjoe, and let's not forget the equally terrifying Pelosisaurus.