Scientists discover giant aquatic predator from a time before dinosaurs

An apex predator with a two-foot skull dominated by huge fangs, which lurked in fresh water in a time before the dinosaurs, has been discovered by a team of scientists. A study published Wednesday in Nature names the species Gaiasia jennyae — a salamander-like tetrapod, or four-legged vertebrate, that lived in what is now Namibia. Its eight-foot body is the largest tetrapod yet found with digits, and it had a broad, flat, diamond-shaped head and enlarged, interlocking fangs, the authors wrote. The fossils suggest it was a suction feeder that...