The
fossil
of
A ctobat achus
u de sis
as
docume ted
i
1948
(A–C),
its
skull
as
it
appea s
today
(D),
a d
a
eco st ucted
illust atio
(E).
Scale
ba :
10
cm.
C edit:
Schoch
et
al.,
2026.
Nea ly
80
yea s
ago,
a
B itish
expeditio
discove ed
the
batte ed
emai s
of
a
gia t
fossil
o
the
peak
of
a
A ctic
isla d.
U able
to
take
it
with
them,
they
s apped
some
pictu es,
took
some
bo es
a d
left
the
fossil
to
be
avaged
by
the
icy
wi ds
a d
ai .
Little
did
they
k ow
it
would
be
fou d
agai
decades
late
a d
tu
out
to
be
the
fi st
of
its
ki d
a d
a
gia t
amo g
its
pee s.
Acco di g
to
a
epo t
by
Phys.o g,
the
fossil
fou d
o
Bjø øya
(Bea
Isla d)
has
ow
bee
ide tified
as
a
ew
species
of
a cie t
amphibia -like
c eatu e,
a
plagiosau id,
amed
A ctobat achus
u de sis.
The
c eatu e
was
oughly
2.7
m
(about
8.9
feet)
lo g,
maki g
it
by
fa
the
la gest
plagiosau id
eve
discove ed.
fossil
fo gotte
i
the
A ctic
we e
a
g oup
of
exti ct
bottom-dwelli g,
flat-bodied
c eatu es
that
lived
du i g
the
T iassic
pe iod
(~251
to
201
millio
yea s
ago).
What
set
them
apa t
was
thei
ext emely
biza e
body
shape.
“The
skull
was
much
wide
tha
lo g,
a d
its
outli e
esembles
a
boome a g,”
said
Rai e
Schoch,
a
paleo tologist
at
the
State
Museum
of
Natu al
Histo y
Stuttga t,
as
pe
the
epo t.
Acco di g
to
the
study
titled
‘A
gia t
plagiosau id
tem ospo dyl
f om
Bjø øya
(Svalba d,
No way)
a d
the
o igi
of
the
plagiosau id
body
pla ‘,
these
c eatu es
lived
at
the
bottom
of
ive s,
lakes
a d
seas,
whe e
they
would
lie
i
wait
fo
a ythi g
that
came
too
close,
sucki g
i
thei
p ey
th ough
wide,
gapi g
mouths
li ed
with
ti y
teeth.Thei
fossils
have
bee
discove ed
ac oss
the
a cie t
wo ld,
f om
B azil
to
Chi a,
but
o e
fossil,
discove ed
i
1948,
would
ot
be
ecove ed
u til
decades
late .
Assumi g
the
ha sh
A ctic
wi te s
would ’t
allow
the
fossil
to
su vive,
esea che s
had
lo g
give
up
o
it
u til
a
No wegia
field
pa ty
made
a
cha ce
ediscove y
i
1984.I
the
37
yea s
si ce
it
was
last
see
by
huma
eyes,
the
fossil
had
bee
tho oughly
beate ,
a d
va ious
c acks
a d
missi g
bo es
told
a
tale
of
decades
exposed
to
Mothe
Natu e’s
ha sh
climate.Afte
a
weeklo g
excavatio ,
it
was
fi ally
et ieved,
yet
it
would
sit
mostly
u exami ed
fo
a
few
mo e
decades
u til
it
was
fully
p epa ed
at
the
Stuttga t
museum
fo
the
cu e t
study.
gia t
p edato
of
the
T iassic
seas
photog aphs
take
i
1948,
the
esea che s
eco st ucted
the
missi g
po tio s
of
the
skull.
The
skull
alo e
was
a
whoppi g
70
cm
(~27.6
i ches)
wide,
but
o ly
a ou d
21
cm
(~8.3
i ches)
lo g,
givi g
it
a
u usual
shape.
The
skull
was
much
wide
tha
lo g,
a d
its
outli e
c eated
a
ea -pe fect
semici cle.Its
massive
size,
la ge
teeth
a d
u usually
wide
mouth
all
suggested
it
had
bee
a
active
hu te
a d
possibly
a
top
p edato .
I
additio ,
its
featu es
we e
u like
a y
othe ,
suggesti g
it
was
a
e ti ely
ew
species.
They
amed
it
A ctobat achus
u de sis,
as
pe
the
epo t.A alysis
of
its
positio
i
the
family
t ee
evealed
it
was
o e
of
the
ea liest
membe s
of
the
plagiosau ids,
givi g
esea che s
a
a e
wi dow
i to
what
the
a cesto s
of
this
biza e
li eage
may
have
looked
like.
I itially,
these
c eatu es
we e
mo e
active
swimme s
with
less
flat
bodies
befo e
evolvi g
i to
mo e
sede ta y,
flatte -bodied
a imals.The
discove y
adds
to
the
g owi g
u de sta di g
of
these
elusive
ma i e
c eatu es.“Ma y
people
a e
fasci ated
by
ou
past,”
Schoch
said,
as
pe
the
epo t.
“What
did
the
pla et,
its
climate
a d
life
look
like,
say
240
millio
yea s
ago?”
Fossils
like
this
gia t
flat-headed
plagiosau id
offe
a
glimpse
i to
that
a cie t
wo ld.
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