Advertisement

Giant otters the size of WOLVES roamed the planet six million years ago

Scientists have discovered that otters the size of wolves roamed the Earth six million years ago.

The giant animals weighed approximately eight stone and lived in the waters of modern-day China, according to new evidence.

Palaeontologists made the discovery of a complete skull, jawbone and teeth while excavating an ancient lake bed in Shuitangba, in the Yunnan Province in Southwestern China.

Remains: The fossil of the giant otter in Yunnan Province, Southwestern China (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County)
Remains: The fossil of the giant otter in Yunnan Province, Southwestern China (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County)

MORE: This albino alligator in Orlando is one of only a handful in the world
MORE: Teenagers don’t notice their sweaty armpits because they can’t smell it – but CAN detect junk food

The species, called Siamogale melilutra, was nearly twice as large as the largest living otters and belongs to an ancient lineage of extinct otters that dates back at least 18 million years.

Dr Denise Su, Curator and Head of Paleobotany and Paleoecology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History revealed: “From the vegetation and other animal groups found at Shuitangba, we know that it was a swampy, shallow lake with quite dense vegetation.”

The fossils have led experts to conclude that the otters had evolved to live on extra large shellfish and molluscs which it cracked open with its powerful jaw.

Powerful: The jaw was used to eat shellfish (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County)
Powerful: The jaw was used to eat shellfish (Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County)

Dr Xiaoming Wang, lead author of the paper and Curator and Head of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, added: “Multiple otter lineages have low-crowned, rounded teeth, leading us to ask the question if this was inherited from a common ancestor or if this was convergent evolution based on common dietary behaviours across different species.

“Our analysis suggests that the dentition independently appeared at least three times over the evolutionary history of otters.”

A CT scan was needed on the skull, that had been flattened during fossilisation.

Size difference: Modern otters are a lot smaller than their prehistoric relatives (Rex)
Size difference: Modern otters are a lot smaller than their prehistoric relatives (Rex)

Dr Su added: “The bones were so delicate that we could not physically restore the cranium. Instead, we CT-scanned the specimen and virtually reconstructed it in a computer.

“This groundbreaking discovery now has scientists trying to understand other aspects of the life of Siamogale melilutra.”

Top pic: SWNS