Fossils of hideous bovine-like animal that predated the dinosaurs is discovered

A cow-like reptile that may have been one of nature's ugliest beasts roamed an isolated desert before the age of the dinosaurs.

The creature's genus name - bunostegos - means 'knobby roof' and gives a clue to its appearance.
About the size of a domestic cow, the plant-eater had bulbous tumour-like growths sprouting from its head and bony armour down its back.

Fossils from bunostegos dating back around 260 million years to the Permian era were found in what is now northern Niger in Africa.

Archaeologists at the University of Washington discovered three Bunostegos skulls in the rocks of the Moradi Formation in Niger. The details behind these fossilized remains will be published in next month's issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The skulls are believed to date back to the late Permian period, more than 250 million years ago, and older than many dinosaur fossils seen today in museums.

Bumpy-Faced Cow-Sized Reptile Roamed the Ancient Desert




Geological data also shows that central Pangea was extremely dry, which would have prevented the movement of animals in and out of the region.
Dr Gabe Bever, from the New York Institute of Technology, said: 'Our understanding of the Permian and the mass extinction that ended it depends on discovery of more fossils like the beautifully bizarre bunostegos.'


Looks like a science project gone wrong........
Very strange and yet, interesting.




[MODS: Wasn't sure which forum to place this in........Please move if needed]

Very cool. Wish they would show the whole body. It right away reminded me of John Carter's dog.

Originally posted by RUFFREADY
Very cool. Wish they would show the whole body. It right away reminded me of John Carter's dog.

Hey, I liked John Carter's dog.....


I just don't care for the black eyes on bumpy-face.....creepy.

I am not convinced that the image reflects what this may have truly looked like. It is entirely possible that it was quite beautiful and not in any way hideous at all. The world may never know.

reply to post by emberscott


Yes, this is true. Look how dinosaurs (looks) changed over the years. Now some have feathers and look all colorful etc...

That's why I thought of John Carters dog. A great looking dog I must say!! (and fast!)

reply to post by snarky412


Looks like the ancestor of the stegosaurus.

I wonder what they ate in the desert . .. . .. . Sand ?

Originally posted by emberscott
I am not convinced that the image reflects what this may have truly looked like. It is entirely possible that it was quite beautiful and not in any way hideous at all. The world may never know.

Good point.....

I always wondered how they can assume that extinct species were a certain color or what they may have sounded like.

The size/shape can be reconstructed via the fossils found but the cosmetic looks after that is what one would assume to be guess work, more or less.

Maybe study their ancestors through the ages and how they had evolved.


--No disrespect intended to the Science field--


It just goes to show it's out of my knowledge for sure and why I find this very fascinating.


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ETA:

Skull fossils found in what is now northern Niger show a series of distinctive bony knobs decorating the animal’s skull — hence the name Bunostegos, which means "knobby roof," or skull. These knobs were probably skin-covered horns such as those of giraffes, and may have been used by Bunostegos to recognize other members of its species. Other pareiasaurs had knobs like these, but they weren’t as large, the researchers said.

reply to post by snarky412

I always wondered how they can assume that extinct species were a certain color or what they may have sounded like. The size/shape can be reconstructed via the fossils found but the cosmetic looks after that is what one would assume to be guess work, more or less.

i've been on a dig before and know a family of paleontologists. some info can be discerned, as you said, but seeing the bones reconstructed alongside "artistic reconstruction" pictures really demonstrates how little we know. we don't even know if they were ectothermic or endothermic.

in the end, i'm excited about this, however i would like to see the fossils themselves (including any hide/scales if present) instead of a pure reconstruction.

looks tasty

MMMMMMMMM bunostegos burgers!
gool find OP!

Originally posted by ShadellacZumbrum

I wonder what they ate in the desert . .. . .. . Sand ?

It was probably not a desert back then.

Interesting,s+f.Aaww its not hideous,just a bit ..warty.My daughter said it reminds her of a frog in a way,the face.Looks like it could have been one of the "gentle giant" type planteaters.Velociraptors are the dino's that give me the heebie-jeebies.

reply to post by snarky412
I would eat it. Cross between a cow and a reptile .
Only question is do you grill it or batter and deep fry it?
Mmmmmmm....getting hungry just thinking about it.

I think it's rather cute! Poor things. He would've probably thought we were horrendous looking!

Anyhow- I hate these artistic renderings- I mean yeah they're cool looking, but it doesn't represent anything real.

They built and determined all this from 3 skulls. I mean, really?

And, on a completely different tangent...

Let's see:
- an animal tens/hundreds of millions of years old, that most closely resembles a modern cow
- any alien life form that would visit us, would likely be someone that already knew we were here or *was* us from a forgotten time
- cow harvesting

Just spitballing.

S&F for the link.

This might have been the first thing that ever tasted like chicken.

reply to post by snarky412


This appears similar to Zool from the first Ghostbusters movie

Interesting point about artists rendering.

I wondered sometimes if these are not done just to drum up public media interest, so grant money is easier to get next field trip.

Academics can be dodgy characters.

Cool experiment would be to reverse the process and give them a part of a Giraffe skull and see what they come up with. .

Am I the only one who thought it was kind of cute? Pretty interesting though, hope to learn more about it as time goes on.