"Scientists Reconstruct Skull of Scotland's Prehistoric 'Tadpole from Hell' After 100 Years"
Scientists have digitally reconstructed the skull of Crassigyrinus scoticus, an early tetrapod that lived in the coal swamps of Scotland over 300 million years ago. The aquatic predator, closely related to some of the first species to make the transition from water to land, had previously been difficult to understand due to severely crushed fossils. However, advances in CT scanning and 3D visualization allowed researchers to piece together the fragments and discover that the animal had a skull similar to modern crocodiles, large teeth, and powerful jaws. The reconstructed skull sheds light on how the carnivore would have lived and hunted prey in ancient Scottish swamps.
