There are so many creatures that once roamed planet Earth, our own little oasis in the vast expanse of the desert we call the cosmos. But what were these creatures like? What would their everyday lives have been like?
Well I'm here to answer those q...
As the sun just begins rising over the horizon, its rays of light reveal a lush, open floodplain crisscrossed by lakes, ponds and rivers, bringing with them massive amounts of sediment from the Antarctic mountains to this region of Africa.
Instead of grass and trees, the area is populated with ferns, horsetails and the tree-like glossopterids. These plants are able to thrive in this environment thanks to seasonal monsoons. A river flows off a ridge and crashes into a lake, becoming one with the larger body of water.
Emerging from the morning's mist is a herd of strange looking creatures. Despite their appearance, these are neither crocodiles nor hippopotamuses, but rather 3 meter long Tapinocephalidaes known as Struthiocephalus whaitsi.
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These bizarre looking animals are best known for their large naso-frontal boss; however, this feature is something that only mature males possess, females lack the headwear entirely.
Leading the herd is Pick-horn, a fully grown male with a lot of experience under his belt. His colorful facial markings and tall crest shows that he's in the prime of his life.
As both Pick-horn and his herd approaches the lake, the old male notices a younger male approaching him, this smaller subadult is Bumper-head.
Normally, Pick-horn might react with some agression to other males who decide to get too close to him, knowing that they might be challenging him for the title of bull, but because of Bumper-head's age and inexperience, the older male lets him stay by his side.
As the herd approaches the lake, Pick-horn stops and lets out a bellow before he begins to feed, telling the rest of the herd that it's time to eat. As the bull, Pick-horn is able to have the best feeding spots to himself; however, this title doesn't mean that he's also the only male who can mate with the females.
While some of the Struthiocephaluses feast on the soft plants on the riverbank, others start wading into the water. Thanks to their long snouts which make up a sixth of their total length, these herbivores are capable of uprooting aquatic plants to eat without needing to dive into the water.
