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Scientists Discovered a 237-Million-Year-Old Sea Monster, and It’s Changing What We Know About Amphibians

This armored amphibian lived in the ocean 237 million years ago, challenging what scientists thought possible for its kind.

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If you’ve been combing through the archaeological record and found a startling lack of terrifying gigantic frogs that look like video game enemies, boy, do I have a horrifying monster to show you. It’s called the Gerrothorax maritimus, and a team of researchers found its remains in present-day China, dating back nearly 237 million years.

According to a study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution, this three-foot-long, disc-shaped monster is officially the first fully marine amphibian ever discovered in the fossil record. Today, over........

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