Pampaphoneus biccai: One of South America’s oldest big carnivores
A multinational team of paleontologists unearthed fossil bones belonging to Pampaphoneus biccai, also known as pampaphonea, among the earliest carnivorous reptiles to roam South America about 265 million years ago in southern Brazil. The team published their findings in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society (ZJLS).
The discovery included a remarkably well preserved skull, ribs, and forelimb bones, offering a rare glimpse into the anatomy of this ancient predator.
Pampaphones were part of an early lineage of therapsids, sometimes described as primitive mammals and their relatives, within a group called dinocephalans. Before their extinction, dinocephalans stood among the planet’s dominant land animals. The peak of Pampaphoneans and their kin occurred near the close of the Paleozoic era, about 40 million years before the rise of dinosaurs in the subsequent Mesozoic era.
According to Felipe Pinheiro, a professor at the Federal University of Pampa, the find sheds light on how terrestrial ecosystems were structured just before the most significant mass extinction in Earth’s history.
Researchers note that 265 million years ago pampaphones filled a ecological niche similar to that of modern lions or tigers. They were the largest terrestrial predators of their time, using their large, sharp dentition and powerful jaws to seize prey and crush bones.
Estimates suggest the largest Pampaphoneus individuals reached nearly three meters in length and weighed around 400 kilograms, highlighting their status as apex predators in their ecosystem.
Earlier paleontological work has documented other ancient indicators of life around that era, including birds; for instance, research indicates the oldest bird remains found in China date to about 150 million years ago, illustrating the broad timeline of life on Earth across different continents.