When we talk about the events of mass extinction, the first case that usually comes to mind is when an asteroid struck Earth about 66 million years ago, causing the extinction of dinosaurs. However, the Cretaceous-palae cell extinction event was not the worst life-loss in the history of our planet. The distinction belongs to Permian-Triassic extinction or great death. During this dramatic period of climate change about 252 million years ago, about 80-90% of all species on Earth have been wiped out, completely changing the planet’s biosphere.
Still, in the face of this devastation, several species were able to survive. That is, a group of primitive amphibians called Temnospondyls. They may have survived a great death by eating freshwater prey that large land predators were unable to reach and not noisy. These new findings are detailed in a Research published in the journal on March 4th Royal Society Open Science.
Approximately 250 million years ago, during the early Triassic period, Almost constant volcanic activity It led to a long stage of global warming, motivation, reduced oxygen in the atmosphere, megael el niño, acid rain, and wildfires. The landscape eventually became very hostile, and the tropical became completely lacking animal life. The final Tropical Dead Zone It affected the distribution of both marine and terrestrial organisms across the globe. Some creatures, including sharks, Horseshoe-shaped craband Temnospondyls could make it strict.
“One of the great mysteries was Aamir Mehmoud, research co-author and evolutionary biologist at the University of Bristol in the UK, “The survival and prosperity of a major group of amphibians known as the temnospondils.” said in a statement. “These were predatory animals that ate fish and other prey, but were primarily water-related, like modern amphibians such as frogs and salamanders. We know that the weather was hot, especially after the event of extinction. Why were these water-loving animals so successful?”
Mehmood and the upcoming team to understand why New research Fossil data were collected from 100 temnospondils who lived throughout the Triassic period. They studied how ecology is changed, measuring skulls, teeth and parts of body size to see what specific features are being used.
Surprisingly, they found it Temnospondyls did not change much throughout the crisis. Instead, they showed the same range of body sizes as they did in the early Permian period. Some of the temnospondils were small and fed insects, while others were large. These large temnospondils have significant survival cues.
“These larger forms trapped animals in long snoo trapping fish and vast generalist feeders,” says research by co-author and paleontologist Armin Elssler. said in a statement. “However, what’s unusual is that their body size and functional diversity expanded about five million years after the crisis and then returned.”
for The first 5 million years of intense global warming in the Triassic periodthere is evidence that both terrestrial and marine life can escape extreme heat from the tropical. According to the teamTemnospondyls was surprisingly able to cross that tropical dead zone.
[ Related: These pleasantly plump salamanders dominated the Cretaceous period. ]
“Fossils are known from South Africa and Australia, South Africa, North America, Europe and Russia,” says Mike Benton, a study co-author and paleontologist, researcher and co-author of the study. said in a statement. “Temnospondyls must have been able to cross the tropical zones during the cool episode.”
This study suggests that their generalist feeding ecology was key to this success. Temnospondyls were able to eat a variety of prey despite changes in the environment taking place around them. It’s not that they can survive by eating less, but their abilities too Hide in sparse waters Consumes a variety of prey.
However, this success did not last. As mammals and dinosaurs began to diversify, Temnospondil began to decline during the Mid Triassic period.
“Their outburst of success in the early Triassic era was not tracked,” Mehmood said.
Temnospondyls eventually disappeared about 120 million years ago. They do not have a living relative, Some evolutionary biologists Think of them as important steps towards today’s diverse amphibians. Studying these past periods will help scientists understand how frogs, salamanders and toads align with today’s environmental challenges. Amphibians are one of the most threatened groups of animals due to widespread disease and climate change.
