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The massive herbivore would have existed in the Triassic 200 million years ago. What is strange in this discovery is that large mammals were not supposed to exist at this stage. Scientists believed that large mammals were extinct at the end of the Permian period, 251.9 million years ago.
After that, only the smallest mammals existed, with dinosaurs becoming the dominant species on Earth, with mammals reclaiming the crown about 50 million years ago.
However, the discovery of huge remains of herbivores discovered in southern Poland indicates that large mammals and large dinosaurs had to coexist.
The creature was called Lisowicia bojani and belonged to the same evolutionary branch as the mammals.
Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, paleontologist at the University of Uppsala, Sweden, co-author of the paper published in the journal Science, said: "We had the habit of thinking that after the end of the Permian final, the mammals and their loved ones were retreating in the shade while the dinosaurs reached huge heights. "
The newly discovered beasts are part of the family of dicynodonts and lived at the same time as other sauropods, a group of dinosaurs that eventually led to the long-necked diplodocus, one of the largest creatures to have never walked on the Earth.
Experts theorize that environmental factors during the Triassic period could have led to gigantism around the world.
Christian Kammerer, dicynodontologist at the Natural Science Museum of North Carolina, said Lisowicia's size was "surprising."
"Great dicynodonts were known both in the Permian and the Triassic, but never on this scale.
"Overall, I think it's a very intriguing and important document, and shows us that there is still a lot to learn about the early relatives of Triassic mammals."
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