It sounds like the story in a science fiction movie, but new research reveals some of the largest sea creatures living in what is now the Sahara Desert. It was found in an ancient body of water called the Trans-Sarahan Seaway, which covered parts of Western Africa 100 million to 50 million years ago.
For two decades, scientists examined fossils in present-day Mali to form an accurate picture of what this prehistoric environment looked like. They concluded the body of water was warm and shallow and was home to five-foot-long catfish and 40-foot-long sea snakes. The ancient Malian ecosystem had numerous predators including Crocodyliformes, Serpentes, and Amiidae, which were among the largest species at that time.
The Trans-Saharan Seaway ran north-to-south from what is now Algeria to what is now Nigeria. That means it was isolated from larger bodies of water during long periods of its existence. This may have limited number of enemies and ensured resources were always available, which is a perfect recipe for a species to grow.
"The Trans-Saharan Seaway exhibited the isolation from major seas," the researcher said. "This environmental variable may have created aquatic centers of endemism, stimulating the selection for gigantism as previously observed for species on terrestrial islands."
Endemism is when a species is confined to a specific area. The Sahara has obviously come a long way from the nightmare aquarium it once was. In 2014, climate simulations concluded the Sahara we know today was formed about seven million years ago when a shift in tectonic plates closed off the region from the surrounding seas.
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