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Description
In what is today Scotland, some 330 million years ago in the mid Carboniferous period, an adult Crassigyrinus scoticus, a carnivorous stem tetrapod, is at the water's surface, staring down at the riverbed. It does so in search of food - with its preferred prey being fish. But some fish are a bit too big for it. Watching it from a few meters away is a Rhizodus hibberti, a giant species of lobe finned fish - an apex predator.

Although it is around five meters (15 feet) long, more than twice the length of an adult Crassigyrinus, and a true giant, it is hidden by the murky waters of the river it hunts in. And as it circles the Crassigyrinus, looking for a good place to attack it, it also formulates an ambush plan - the Crassigyrinus makes up for its lack of size with speed, and it is also much thinner than the Rhizodus, meaning it can find in crevices and tight spots to hide in, where it can be safe for some time.

But there are disadvantages. The Rhizodus has brute force on its side, and can also burst into speed in the blink of an eye. And now, it has formulated a plan of attack. Now, all that remains to be done is execute it. The Crassigyrinus is still sitting near the river's surface, when it sees the Rhizodus - it has deliberately moved closer, and wants its prey to see it. The smaller predator swims off, but already thinks are looking frightening for it.

Crassigyrinus spends its entire life in the water - it has legs and feet, but they are so small they are little more than dead weight. Other stem tetrapods like it usually crawl onto land to evade aquatic predators like Rhizodus. It is like a tadpole throughout its entire life. In fact, its name means "thick tadpole," despite being far larger than any true tadpole.

The Rhizodus is gaining on it. But suddenly, it breaks off course, disappearing back into the murk. Confused, the Crassigyrinus turns around, perplexed. No predator here has power over Rhizodus, or even comes close to challenging it. But before it can comprehend what has happened, it is ripped away, its rear body locked in two massive jaws, teeth digging into its body.

The Rhizodus' plot has worked. It pushes through the water, down, down down. As the light from the water's surface slowly grows less visible, life drains from the Crassigyrinus. There is no escape. Soon the deed is done, and the Crassigyrinus is dead. The Rhizodus gobbles it down. But this meal will not last it very long. Soon, the giant fish will be back on the hunt, looking for another unsuspecting rivergoer to ambush and annihilate.

Description
In what is today Scotland, some 330 million years ago in the mid Carboniferous period, an adult Crassigyrinus scoticus, a carnivorous stem tetrapod, is at the water's surface, staring down at the riverbed. It does so in search of food - with its preferred prey being fish. But some fish are a bit too big for it. Watching it from a few meters away is a Rhizodus hibberti, a giant species of lobe finned fish - an apex predator.

Although it is around five meters (15 feet) long, more than twice the length of an adult Crassigyrinus, and a true giant, it is hidden by the murky waters of the river it hunts in. And as it circles the Crassigyrinus, looking for a good place to attack it, it also formulates an ambush plan - the Crassigyrinus makes up for its lack of size with speed, and it is also much thinner than the Rhizodus, meaning it can find in crevices and tight spots to hide in, where it can be safe for some time.

But there are disadvantages. The Rhizodus has brute force on its side, and can also burst into speed in the blink of an eye. And now, it has formulated a plan of attack. Now, all that remains to be done is execute it. The Crassigyrinus is still sitting near the river's surface, when it sees the Rhizodus - it has deliberately moved closer, and wants its prey to see it. The smaller predator swims off, but already thinks are looking frightening for it.

Crassigyrinus spends its entire life in the water - it has legs and feet, but they are so small they are little more than dead weight. Other stem tetrapods like it usually crawl onto land to evade aquatic predators like Rhizodus. It is like a tadpole throughout its entire life. In fact, its name means "thick tadpole," despite being far larger than any true tadpole.

The Rhizodus is gaining on it. But suddenly, it breaks off course, disappearing back into the murk. Confused, the Crassigyrinus turns around, perplexed. No predator here has power over Rhizodus, or even comes close to challenging it. But before it can comprehend what has happened, it is ripped away, its rear body locked in two massive jaws, teeth digging into its body.

The Rhizodus' plot has worked. It pushes through the water, down, down down. As the light from the water's surface slowly grows less visible, life drains from the Crassigyrinus. There is no escape. Soon the deed is done, and the Crassigyrinus is dead. The Rhizodus gobbles it down. But this meal will not last it very long. Soon, the giant fish will be back on the hunt, looking for another unsuspecting rivergoer to ambush and annihilate.