An international team of researchers led by the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP) and the Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals (MUCBO | MBCN) has made an extraordinary discovery: a fossilized creature that roamed the Earth between 270 and 280 million years ago, in what is now Mallorca.
This discovery is exceptional, not only due to the abundance of fossil remains uncovered but also because it marks the earliest known gorgonopsian on the planet—a lineage of saber-toothed predators that played a crucial role in the evolution of mammals.
Gorgonopsians were an extraordinary and now-extinct group of synapsids that roamed the Earth during the Permian period, approximately 270 to 250 million years ago. These fascinating creatures are part of the evolutionary lineage that would eventually lead to the first mammals around 50 million years later.
Unlike many modern mammals, gorgonopsians were warm-blooded but remarkably laid eggs. As fierce carnivores, they were among the first to develop the iconic saber-shaped teeth, making them formidable superpredators in their ecosystems. Visually, they bore a striking resemblance to dogs, yet they were distinctively unique, lacking both ears and fur.
Recently, remains unearthed in Mallorca correspond to a small to medium-sized gorgonopsian. Measuring about one meter in length, these remains were found at a significant site in the municipality of Banyalbufar, located in the Serra de Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca, Spain. The excavation included three separate campaigns, yielding a surprising amount of material.
“The large number of bone remains is surprising. We have found everything from fragments of skull, vertebrae, and ribs to a very well-preserved femur. In fact, when we started this excavation, we never thought we would find so many remains of an animal of this type in Mallorca,” explains Rafel Matamales, curator of the Museu Balear de Ciències Naturals (MUCBO | MBCN) and research associate at the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP), and first author of the article.
The specimen’s location in the Balearic Islands is already an unusual finding. Prior to this discovery, known gorgonopsian remains were found mainly at much higher latitudes like those in Russia or South Africa. The age of this specimen has also astonished the researchers involved in the study.
“It is probably the oldest gorgonopsian on the planet. The one we found in Mallorca is at least 270 million years old, and the other records of this group worldwide are, at the very least, slightly younger,” points Josep Fortuny, senior author of the article.
Among the fossil remains uncovered, a nearly complete leg is particularly notable, providing insight into the animal’s movement. Unlike reptiles, which exhibit more primitive locomotion with their limbs more spread apart, gorgonopsians had their legs positioned more vertically, allowing them to move in a manner that is a blend of reptilian and mammalian movement. This type of movement is more efficient for both walking and especially for running. The recovered saber teeth further indicate its dietary habits.
“We know that this is a carnivorous animal, a characteristic shared by all gorgonopsians worldwide. The saber teeth are a common feature in large predators of ecosystems, and what we have found was likely one in the environment in which it lived,” emphasizes Àngel Galobart, a researcher at the ICP and director of the Museu de la Conca Dellà .
During the Permian period, around 270 million years ago, Mallorca was part of the supercontinent Pangaea rather than being the picturesque island we know today. Situated at an equatorial latitude similar to that of today’s Congo or Guinea, it experienced a monsoonal climate with distinct wet and dry seasons.
Excavations have revealed that the rich fossil site was a vibrant floodplain dotted with temporary ponds where fascinating creatures like gorgonopsians quenched their thirst. Among the inhabitants of this unique ecosystem were moradisaurine captorhinids, an ancient lineage of herbivorous reptiles, including the Tramuntanasaurus tiai, which likely played a crucial role in the diets of gorgonopsians.
While the Balearic Islands may be small, their fossil record is nothing short of extraordinary. Although most research has focused on Pleistocene and Holocene fossils, there is a treasure trove of lesser-known prehistoric findings waiting to be explored.
The islands have yielded remarkable discoveries, including the world’s oldest mosquito, nearly a thousand species of ammonoids related to squids, early ancestors of horses and hippos, colossal sharks, and extensive coral reefs.
Journal reference:
- Rafel Matamales-Andreu, Christian F. Kammerer, Kenneth D. Angielczyk, Tiago R. Simões, Eudald Mujal, Àngel Galobart & Josep Fortuny. Early–middle Permian Mediterranean gorgonopsian suggests an equatorial origin of therapsids. Nature Communications, 2024; DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-54425-5
