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280 million-year-old swamp monster with 'big, flat toilet seat-shaped head' discovered in Namibia

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Researchers in Namibia have discovered fossils from a huge, extinct swamp creature with a toilet seat-shaped skull.

Gaiasia jennyae existed around 280 million years ago — about 40 million years before the first dinosaurs evolved — and offers a glimpse into the early evolution of tetrapods, or four-limbed vertebrates. 

Its skull was more than 2 feet (0.6 meters) long, and researchers estimate the entire animal could have been  to 8.2 feet (2.5 m) long, potentially making it the biggest creature of its kind, according to a statement. 

Researchers described the swamp creature in a study published Wednesday (July 3) in the journal Nature.

"Gaiasia jennyae was considerably larger than a person, and it probably hung out near the bottom of swamps and lakes," study co-lead author Jason Pardo, a researcher at the Field Museum in Chicago, said in a separate statement.

Related: Stunning 3D images show anatomy of 500 million-year-old Cambrian trilobites entombed in volcanic ash

G. jennyae had interlocking jaws that enabled it to hunt for prey. The researchers believe it was likely the apex predator in its swampy ecosystem.

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