Fearsome saber-toothed giant dominated at dawn of 'Great Dying', but its reign was short-lived

The giant gorgonopsian Inostrancevia looked somewhat reptilian, with large saber teeth and tough skin like an elephant's. (Image credit: Matt Celeskey)

At the dawn of the most devastating mass extinction in Earth's history 252 million years ago, species fought tooth and nail to survive in the changing environment. Ancient predators in particular, struggled ruthlessly to stay at the top of the food chain.

Now, scientists have discovered that a tiger-size, saber-toothed beast called Inostrancevia briefly dominated southern ecosystems after migrating across the supercontinent Pangaea from what is now Russia to South Africa.