Dinosaurs are often hailed as the largest and most fearsome predators in natural history. However, 40 million years ago when they dominated South America, Pampaphoneus biccai was South America's undisputed apex predator, the largest and most bloodthirsty meat-eater of its era.
265 million years ago, Pampaphoneus biccai was South America's apex predator. A well-preserved fossil discovered in Brazil has shed new light on this prehistoric beast. Artistic reproduction of Pampaphoneusbiccai. Image source: Original by Márcio Castro
A new study published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society by an international team of researchers reveals the surprising discovery of the beautifully preserved 265-million-year-old fossil of the species Pampaphoneus biccai, found in rural São Gabriel in southern Brazil.
The stunning fossil includes a complete skull and some bones, such as ribs and arm bones. Pampaphoneus belongs to a group of early anurans known as dinosaurs, and lived before the largest mass extinction event in Earth's history, which wiped out 86% of the world's animal species.
Before the mass extinction event, dinosaurocephalons were one of the main groups of large terrestrial animals that thrived on land. They are medium to large animals, both carnivorous and herbivorous. The skulls of dinosaur cephalopods are very thick, so the name of this animal is translated as "terrible head" in Greek. Although these animals are famous in South Africa and Russia, they are rare in other parts of the world. Pampaphoneus biccai is the only known species from Brazil.
"This fossil was found in rocks from the mid-Permian period, a region where bones are not common but always bring surprises," said lead author Mateus A. Costa Santos, a graduate student in the Paleontology Laboratory of the Federal University of Pampa (UNIPAMPA). "Finding a new Pampaphoneus skull after such a long time is extremely important for increasing our knowledge of this animal, which was previously difficult to distinguish from its Russian relatives."
Paleontologists from UNIPAMPA and the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) collected the fossil after a month of painstaking daily field work. Due to the impact of the pandemic, it took another three years to clean up and thoroughly study the fossils. Co-author Stephanie E. Pierce, Professor of Vertebrate Paleontology and Mammalogy and Department of Organismal and Evolutionary Biology at the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard University, participated in the study of this animal as part of her current work with senior author and laboratory leader Professor Felipe Pinheiro (Institute of National Archaeology of Brazil) to study the fossil record of the Permian and Triassic in Brazil.
Pierce said: "This animal is so ferocious in appearance that it is sure to strike fear into any animal that crosses its path. Its discovery is key to understanding the community structure of terrestrial ecosystems before the largest mass extinction in history. This spectacular discovery demonstrates the global importance of Brazil's fossil record."
The new specimen is the second Pampaphoneus skull found in South America. It is also larger than the first specimen and, because its bones are so well preserved, provides unprecedented information about its morphology.
"Pampaphoneus played the same ecological role as modern big cats," Pinheiro said. "It is the largest terrestrial carnivore known to us from the Permian period of South America. The animal's canine teeth were large and sharp, adapted for capturing prey. Its teeth and skull structure suggest that its bite was powerful enough to chew bones, much like modern hyenas."
While Pampaphoneus's skull is the largest complete skull ever found, measuring nearly 40 centimeters long, research suggests the previously undiscovered fossil may represent a third individual that was twice as large as the newly discovered skull. While the latter is only known from a fragment of its lower jaw, it does have enough features to identify it as Pampaphoneus.
Researchers estimate that the largest Pampaphoneus could reach nearly 3 meters in length and weigh about 400 kilograms. It is a skilled predator capable of feeding on small to medium-sized animals. Some of its potential prey, such as the small dicynodont Rastodon and the giant amphibian Konzhukovia, were also found in the same location where the fossil was found.
The new Pampaphoneus specimen, along with other animals found in the area, shows that the Pampa region has paleontological potential for significant fossil discoveries.