The global extinction 252 million years ago affected almost all representatives of flora and fauna. But the remains discovered recently in Antarctica indicate that some animals escaped from disaster in the "ice" areas
The most massive extinction in the history of the Earth occurred in the late Permian - early Triassic periods. Immediately after the rapid development of the animal world, a catastrophe broke out on the planet, destroying 90 percent of sea creatures and 70 percent of land.
The dominant theory for these events is currently the assumption that a large meteorite fell to Earth. As a result, significant climatic changes began on the planet, leading to global warming. However, according to scientists, some animals escaped extinction by moving to cold regions like Antarctica, as evidenced by the discovery of the remains of distant relatives of mammals - anomodonts. These rather large theomorphic ("animal-like") creatures ate mainly plant foods. Most of their remains were found in South America, but some species lived in other regions of the world. "Anomodonts were the dominant herbivores on the planet," says co-author Jörg Fröbisch of the Museum of Natural History in Chicago.“They united in groups and could exist in any conditions - burrowing into the ground, walking on the ground or climbing trees.” The discovered species of Kombuisia antarctica differed from its relatives in small size - it was no larger than a modern domestic cat. “However, these creatures were very different from mammals. They laid eggs, did not care for the young, and did not have any hair. It is still unknown whether they were warm-blooded,”adds Frebisch's co-author and colleague Kenneth Angelchik. They laid eggs, did not care for the young, and did not have any hair. It is still unknown whether they were warm-blooded,”adds Frebisch's co-author and colleague Kenneth Angelchik. They laid eggs, did not care for the young, and did not have any hair. It is still unknown whether they were warm-blooded,”adds Frebisch's co-author and colleague Kenneth Angelchik.
Kombuisia antarctica has no descendants among modern mammals and belongs to a small group of animals that survived the Permian-Triassic extinction, during which most of the creatures died. Moreover, with the onset of a new geological period, anomodonts have become one of the largest suborders among terrestrial inhabitants.
Scientists have argued for decades about the causes of the Great Global Extinction, but the discovery of Antarctic inhabitants fits into most scientific theories on this topic. In those distant times, Antarctica was located farther north than it is now, was warmer and not covered with glaciers. Practically not connected with other continents, it would be less affected by the seismic transformations of the planet.
In addition, the find supports the assumption that miniature animals were more likely to survive extinction than large creatures.
Since paleontologists have no idea about the vital processes of anomodonts, it remains only to guess whether they had defense mechanisms similar to hibernation (hibernation) or torpor (stupor of the organism, accompanied by a sharp decrease in all signs of vital activity). Working with the remains, scientists discovered that representatives of the species Kombuisia antarctica were found more than thirty years ago, when one of the main directions in the study of the ancient world was the search for evidence of the existence of a single prakontinent Pangea. But then paleontologists did not establish the species belonging of these animals, and the fossils lay in the archive for more than a quarter of a century. P al eontolog, Doctor of Biological Sciences Nikolai Devyachinsky.
“The very history of this process on Earth is covered with a veil of secrecy for us. Since then, the geological formation of the continents has changed many times, and it is impossible to find obvious traces of some seismic or cosmic catastrophes that shook the planet.
Therefore, to clarify all the circumstances, it is necessary to study indirect evidence - for example, find those species of animals that lived in the late Permian period and in the early Triassic. It is to such creatures that the suborder of anomodonts belongs, which means that after learning more about their lifestyle, diet and habitat, you can find some answers to questions about global extinction.
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There is still a lot of work to be done. It is impossible to learn everything about hundreds of millions of years of life history on Earth in a year. We are at the very beginning of a long journey."