MUSEUM CAMPUS — The Field Museum is at it again, having helped research a study detailing new prehistoric amphibians in Brazil.
Scientists from the Field and elsewhere penned a recent study in Nature Communications detailing the carnivorous creatures Timonya annae, a small fanged species that resembles a cross between a salamander and an eel, and Procuhy Nazarienis, whose name means "fire frog" in the Brazilian Timbira language.
Both animals inhabited the Earth 278 million years ago, and in a statement, the Field said the discovery sheds new light on the type of animals living in the prehistoric southern tropics.
"Almost all of our knowledge about land animals comes from a handful of regions in North America and western Europe, which were located near the equator," said Ken Angielczyk, a Field Museum scientist and one of the paper's authors. "Now we finally have information about what kinds of animals were present in areas farther to the south."
The paper also details a collie-sized amphibian, and a lizard-like reptile. The Field said the discoveries reveal "how animals moved" on the ancient Pangaea supercontinent.
In addition to its museum, 1400 S. Lake Shore Drive, the Field also employs numerous scientists researching natural history. Field scientists discovered Sue the T-Rex, and more recently, a prehistoric venomous mammal they called "Scarface."
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