Ranger Rani is scratching her head! Would you expect to see the fossil of a fish eating creature in the biggest hot desert in the world?
No!
A desert has no water, you say. You are absolutely right. But scientists just found a fossil of a fish eating creature in a desert! In fact they found it in the biggest hot desert in the world. The biggest hot desert in the world is the Sahara. It covers an area more than 9, 100,000 square kilometers. That is three times the size of India!
Now Ranger Rani knows scientists lead an expedition to search this sandy oceanic world. It involves a lot of detailed planning, working in harsh conditions, saving every drop of water and complete dedication to work.
About 110-million years ago, ancient rivers drained in Niger region of Sahara. These rivers were probably large, as the fossil animals recovered from the sands were big. Suchomimus, a sail-backed fish eater that is 35-foot long, a reptile called Pterosaur has 16-foot wingspan, hyena-like meat-eating dinosaurs and the shark-toothed Eocarcharia. Add to this bizarre collection five supersized crocodiles!
Paleontologists explain how these fossils occurred in the same region. Long time ago, several large land masses were joined together, into a super-continent called Gondwana. India, Antarctica, Africa, South America were once a part of this continent. About 110 million years ago, South America and Africa were just beginning to separate. The fossils tell the story of creatures at that time.
To an expert, these fossils tell a lot about the life style of the creature.
Imagine the majesty of the 16-foot Pterosaur in flight. Somehow it was able to soar over water, snag a fish and keep flying again. Scientists believe the Pterosaur is built for flying. The creature was probably clumsy on land or in shallow water, walking slowly on all fours.
The Suchomimus, meaning crocodile mimic, ate the fish in the rivers. The jaws with have long and slender teeth interlocked to snare fish.
And species of dinosaurs, never seen before, were a part of this world. Several special meat-eating dinosaurs lived in Sahara. Two new species of dinosaurs discovered are only the size of hyena. One species named Kryptops palaios, had horny covering that appeared nearly all of its face. Kryptops was about 25 feet long. It had short armored jaws with small teeth would have helped at gobbling guts and gnawing on carcasses than grabbing at live prey.
The other newly discovered dinosaur called, Eocarcharia dinops, has blade-shaped teeth and bony eyebrows. The teeth of this creature were meant to disable live prey or severe body parts. It was one chilly predator one couldn't escape from!
Sarcosuchus imperator, the SuperCroc, measures 40 feet long and weighs about 8 tons. Perhaps even more surprising was the crocodile could walk 'upright' with their arms and legs under the body like a land mammal. That is far from the image of a crocodile sprawled out on bellies and crawling on the ground.
For surviving in a dinosaur era, the crocodiles had to dash using their upright and agile legs, and paddle the water with their tail.
Ranger Rani is amazed at the wealth of creatures found in the sands.
She can't wait to see what we will find when we visit the Thar Desert one day!
