Terrifying beast walked 11,265km across Pangea to avoid extinction during Great Dying

Dinosaurs are not the only predators that have walked the Earth. Nearly 252 million years ago, when Earth witnessed the "Great Dying" mass extinction, a beast continued to survive and thrive during the 200,000 years that followed. It was the Permian Extinction, and the animal was a terrifying predator of the era called Inostrancevia. All this while, the planet underwent several changes, but this creature beat all odds and escaped everything.

The mass extinction killed 90 per cent of marine species and 70 per cent of land animals. But, Inostrancevia, a sabre-toothed creature, escaped unscathed. It travelled from its original location to avoid the catastrophe, researchers say.

Scientists have believed that it only lived in Russia. But palaeontologists have found that it travelled to South Africa, as fossils in the region indicate. It was a form of survival instinct for the creature as life around it ended. Inostrancevia was not a dinosaur and lived way before the mammoth creatures. Nevertheless, it was no less than the dinosaurs, with its sharp teeth and unique skull shape.

It measured 10 feet from nose to tail, was three feet tall at the shoulder and weighed nearly 816 kilos. What made it the best predator of its time were its teeth which were almost five inches long. It could cut through it right prey instantly. The predator also had extremely long legs, bigger than any other creature of the time.

The Inostrancevia belonged to the Gorgonopsia family of ancient animals called proto-mammals or therapsids. Their attributes resembled those of both mammals and reptiles. Some of them evolved into modern mammals.

The Northern Hemisphere, primarily Russia, was the only place this creature was believed to have lived in during the Permian Era till now. Scientists thought that another predator ruled the south. However, around 14 years ago, they found fossils in South Africa, in the Karoo Basin. Over the years, they put them together and realised it belonged to the Inostrancevia.

This proved that the beast migrated during the Great Dying, travelling a whopping 11,265 kilometres across the supercontinent of Pangea to avoid going extinct. Scientists are now trying to understand how it survived the arduous journey during a mass extinction event.