Chapter 10: The Great Dying
For the past 286 million years, our planet has undergone many different changes and many types of animal have come and gone in that time and yet life has continued to thrive, surviving everything the planet could throw at it, however now 252 million years ago, life is being pushed to the brink in a way that has not been seen since the PreCambrian, for our planet is going through the greatest mass extinction of the entire Phanerozoic eon, an event aptly known as Permian-Triassic Extinction Event or perhaps better known as the Great Dying. The Great Dying has its origins in Siberia, for here a volcanic depression formed known as the Siberian Traps, while volcanic depressions and eruptions have been a common occurrence throughout the Permian, the Siberian Traps are far more destructive, for this depression is the size of Greenland and while most volcanic eruptions occur due to tectonic activity, the Siberian Traps were caused by a mantle plume an event where magma seeps up from the mantle to the surface, causing brutal eruptions. As these eruptions occur, brutal amounts of lava seeps across the region destroying anything in its wake and killing untold numbers of plants and animals, soon the region becomes uninhabitable for anything that isn't microscopic and yet it isn't the lava that causes the extinction event, rather its an invisible force that brings ruin to the planet, greenhouse gasses. As these gasses seep into the atmosphere they trap heat like a blanket and this causes the Earth's temperature to rise. In the seas the rising temperatures cause entire communities to be wiped out, corals in particular being so sensitive to temperature changes are killed in droves destroying the communities that thrive within them.
On top of this, the pH levels in the water begin to change, as the oceans begin to acidify, spelling doom for many hard shelled animals who are sensitive to such things. Soon many types of marine animals that dominated the Paleozoic see massive die offs. The once dominant Brachiopods barely pull through losing most of their number in the event, while they do survive, their time at the top is over. Ammonites also are killed off in droves, with the goniatite ammonites being completely wiped out, while a few genera of ammonite pull through, they are left in a rough spot by the end. The hardy trilobites meanwhile are completely wiped out, what was once a dominant class of animals is no more after 261 million years of evolution, after surviving everything the planet could throw at them they have finally been snuffed out never to return.
Life on land meanwhile isn't doing much better, for as the temperature rises, the great deserts of Pangea continue to expand, destroying valuable habitat and killing many animals and currently there is no sign of the eruptions stopping, despite this life struggles on as best it can, as the last representatives of many iconic beasts of the Permian, prepare for their final push to try and survive this apocalypse and yet most of them are doomed to fail.
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We find ourselves in what will one day be Western Russian, for while the Siberian Traps to the east continue to erupt, here animals fight for survival. While this region was always quite arid, in the past few thousand years it has become a full on desert. During the day temperatures soar as the sun beats down, currently the area seems empty for there is no sign of life, that is until one finds footprints in the sand. As we follow the footprints, we soon find their maker, a massive Scutosaurus, a bison sized pareiasaur and one of the last of its kind. Pareisaurs saw an increase in diversity at the start of the Late Permian around 8 million years earlier, a rise that coincided with both the extinction of the dinocephalians and a rise in global temperatures, however, they have been hit hard by the Great Dying and their numbers have continued to fall as their world is changing rapidly around them.
This male has likely not seen other members of his kind in years and this has left him unable to find a mate during the breeding season. Currently he is rather weak, while Scutosaurus can go for a long time without food and water, even they have their limits and this male is being pushed to his. He trudges along, the sand burning his feet as he walks. As he walks over one of the sand dunes, he finds something, an oasis in the desert, at last he has found water. The oasis itself is made up of a decent sized lake and a small community of plants with even a few conifer trees, as well as ferns and other plants, how this community has survived in the great desert is unknown and the Scutosaurus doesn't care.
He quickly begins to drink from the lake, gulping down water, as he finally quenches his thirst. After drinking his fill of water he heads over to the ferns and begins to greedily feed on them, this is likely the first good meal he's had in weeks and he won't let it go to waste. After eating his fill, he heads to the shade of a tree and begins to finally rest. The shade of the tree offering relief from the scorching sun.
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A few hours pass and soon it is evening. The scorching sun has begun to set in the sky and while the temperature is still quite high, it is now bearable for many of the animals to begin to show themselves. Emerging from burrows are a genus of dicynodont known as Lystrosaurus georgi. Lystrosaurus itself is an interesting genus made up of many different species. Lystrosaurus themselves were common sight throughout the globe during the Late Permian and they have interestingly fared better throughout the Great Dying than most animals.
Lystrosaurus survivability comes down to a few things, one is their burrowing ability allowing them to make shelter during the hottest part of the day and they can also go without food and water for impressively long periods of time. As the Lystrosaurus emerge, they begin to feed on the ferns. As the Lystrosaurus feed, one takes notice of the male Scutosaurus. The male Scutosaurus bellows as the Lystrosaurus causing them to back away from the ferns. Being big has its advantages, after all the male Scutosaurus can easily bully the pig-sized Lystrosaurus and take his share of their food.
Luckily for the Lystrosaurus, there is plenty of food to go around and so they simply settle on feeding on a different set of ferns. The sharp beak of Lystrosaurus allows them to easily crop vegetation for consumption, it's a strategy that has proven successful for dicynodonts throughout their evolutionary history.
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A little bit later we find the herbivores still feeding and yet unknown to them, they are being watched. Peering over one of the dunes, is one of the top predators of this region, Inostrancevia latifrons. Inostranceiva is a part of the gorgonopsid family and ever since the extinction of the dinocephalians they have mushroomed in size, Inostranceiva in particular is among the largest being the size of a grizzly bear, while it would be dwarfed by beasts like Anteosaurus, it is a fearsome predator regardless. The Inostranceiva scans the area looking for the perfect target. The Inostrancevia takes notice of the Scutosaurus and it begins to silently descend down the dune.
The Inostranceiva then begins to stalk the Scutosaurus, getting low as it tries to hide in the ferns. The Scutosaurus feeds ambivalently, unaware that he is being watched. The Inostrancevia continues to creep closer and closer, before finally charging the Scutosaurus. The Scutosaurus has no time to react, as the Inostrancevia grabs ahold of it by the head, using its arms to control its prey. The Scutosaurus attempts to dislodge the Inostrancevia, however, the Inostrancevia remains attached to the Scutosaurus head, using its sharp claws to dig in and keep a good grip on the struggling herbivore.
Finally the Inostrancevia finds the unarmoured throat of its prey and it delivers the fatal bite. The Scutosaurus collapses to the ground, blood pouring out of the wound in his neck, as he swiftly expires. Inostrancevia has become perfectly adapted for hunting large game like pareiasaurs, its powerful forelimbs are tipped with claws for grappling with their prey and while their bite force isn't super powerful, they male up for it with an ability to open their jaws to an incredible width and within those jaws are 5.9 inch long saber teeth the most distinctive feature of the gorgonopsids. The Inostrancevia instead of immediately feeding lets out some calls and soon running in from the top of the sand dune are a pair of youngsters, for this Inostrancevia is a mother. The young begin to join their mother in feeding on the carcass.
Surviving with young in this harsh world has taken its toll on this mother and yet she continues on doing what she can to provide for them. The family soon eat their fill and they head off to rest, their bellies now full. The Inostrancevia family leave a lot of meat on the carcass and the smell of said meat attracts scavengers who seek to get their own share of the carcass. Emerging from a grove of ferns is a small weasel sized animal known as Dvinia. Dvinia is part of a clade of synapsids known as the cynodonts, a clade that is closely related to gorgonopsids and therocephalians.
Cynodonts like Dvinia are on average far smaller than the gorgonopsids and therocephalians and yet they are quite successful in their own right. Cynodonts themselves inhibit many different niches, with Dvinia being a small omnivore. The Dvinia itself begins to feed on the fresh carcass, tearing off chunks of flesh. Perhaps the most important part of the cynodonts will be their descendents, for in the future some of them will be the ancestors of true mammals and already they have many features of true mammals like being covered in hair and possessing whiskers. Despite these features, cynodonts like Dvinia are still not quite yet true mammals, however, they already have the blueprint and in time they will further develop and refine these features.
The Dvinia continues to feed on the carcass, however, the smell of the dead Scutosaurus attracts other larger scavengers to the kill. A hiss captures the attention of the Dvinia, as it turns and spots a large reptile walking towards it. Immediately, the Dvinia scurries off, as the reptile begins to feed on the carcass. This is Archosaurus a member of a clade of reptiles known as the archosauromorphs. The archosauromorphs evolved just a few million years earlier and already they have begun to diversify across Pangea, the hot temperatures of the Late Permian proving to be the perfect conditions for them to become a dominant force.
Archosaurus itself can grow up to 10 feet in length, however, its relatively slender snout leaves it unable to hunt large animals, despite this it is still a very successful creature. Notably in contrast to most animals, Archosaurus has done quite well for itself through the Great Dying, with the genus surviving about as well as one can through this apocalypse. The Archosaurus uses its jaws to tear off chunks of flesh from the Scutosaurus carcass, its sharp serrated teeth allowing it to butcher its meal with relative ease. One interesting feature of Archosaurus compared to most reptiles is its metabolism, while most reptiles have slow metabolisms, Archosaurus and its relatives have quite swift metabolisms albeit not as fast as that of most synapsids, still it's fast enough to make Archosaurus a swift and agile predator. In the future many of Archosaurus relatives will further refine these features and among these relatives will be arguably the most successful terrestrial animals of them all, the dinosaurs.
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While the Archosaurus feeds, the Dvinia heads to a burrow that it has dug out and vanishes inside of it. Burrowing is a behavior that has convergently evolved among many animals throughout the Late Permian and it allows animals like Dvinia to be better equipped to survive the Great Dying. The Dvinia quickly hunkers down for some much needed rest.
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A few days later, we find some of the residents of the oasis awakening for the day. Emerging from a burrow are the Lystrosaurus preparing for another day of feeding. The Lystrosaurus quickly spread out, while most feed on the low lying ferns, others hang out under the small grove of conifers. The reason for this can be found in the trees, meet Suminia. Suminia are some of the first arboreal tetrapods to have evolved and they at one time thrived in the great conifer forests that dotted what is now Western Russia, however, as the deserts have expanded in size and their habitat has been destroyed their numbers have fallen significantly.
During the good years, Suminia wouldn't even be caught near a desert, however, now only small pockets and groves like this one exist in the great deserts. Suminia themselves are actually distant relatives of dicynodonts like Lystrosaurus as they share a common ancestor, however they are very different creatures. Suminia themselves feed on the vegetation within the trees, their peg like teeth easily stripping branches. As the Suminia feeds it drops vegetation to the floor and this is exactly what the Lystrosaurus have been waiting for, as they quickly snap up the fallen plants. Suminia itself has many adaptations for its arboreal lifestyle including grasping hands.
In the future such features will be adopted by later synapsids such as primates in another case of convergent evolution.
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Suminia aren't the only animals that spend their lives in the trees, meet Rautiania. Rautinia is part of an extinct family of reptiles known as weigeltisaurids. The weigeltisaurids stand out for being some of the first tetrapods to take to the air. This ability is achieved thanks to flaps of skin membranes that are supported by bony rods that extend out of the torso. This ability is not the true powered flight seen in many of the insects of this time, however, it is still rather impressive.
Rautinia itself mainly feeds on insects and like Suminia spends most of its time in the trees, its gelding ability helps it move from tree to tree with relative ease. Like Suminia, Rautianias ability to glide will be utilized by many later unrelated reptiles, like the modern day draco lizards. Sadly for Rautinia, its specialization for living in a forest is proving to be its undoing and as its habitat grows smaller its chances at survival are being further put in jeopardy.
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Below the arboreal animals, the Lystrosaurus continue to feed on the fallen vegetation, as they do so, an alarm is suddenly sounded by the Suminia, on top of dropping food they also serve as lookouts for the Lystrosaurus. The Lystrosaurus begin to shift nervously, as the Inostrancevia and her young walk by them. Luckily for the Lystrosaurus, the Inostrancevia is not hunting, for the Scutosaurus she killed has left her with a full belly; she is simply heading down to the lake to get a drink. She ignores the herbivores, however, her young eager to practice hunting make mock charges and snap at the Lystrosaurus agitating them. Most of the herd shuffle nervously, however, one of the big males stands his ground.
The female Inostrancevia growls at her pups beckoning them to come on, this is for their own good, for Lystrosaurus are more dangerous than they look, their beaks can break bones and their pair of tusks can cause nasty gashes. The family quickly leave the Lystrosaurus and soon arrive at the edge of the lake. The family begin to drink from the lake. The young Inostranceiva quickly drink their fill and they begin to play fight. Their mother keeps a watchful eye on them, they are about a year old and are approaching the age where they will begin to mushroom in size.
Currently their man sized, but by the time they are two they will be nearly full grown and by that point their mother will run them off, if they make it that long that is, even before the Siberian Traps blew their top survival was tough for young Inostrancevia much less now that the entire planet is slowly being choked out by thick desert. Inostrancevia as a genus was once one of the most successful of all gorgonopsids with one species even living in South Africa and they lived in many different climates from semi arid fern prairies to, conifer forests, and even lush floodplains, however, even they are struggling to survive the massive deserts that are suffocating their world and as their habitat grows smaller, so do their numbers, survival for the once dominant force of the Late Permian looks bleak. After drinking her fill, the mother heads off to rest under a conifer tree, while the shade is still hot, it is bearable especially compared to being out in the sun. Even her young quickly choose to hang out in the shade, for even their energy doesn't last long especially as morning gives way to noon.
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As the midday heat begins to creep in, most of the animals attempt to hide, those that can burrow slink away underground. Others like the Suminia and Rautiania rest in the hollow openings in the trees. Some animals meanwhile stay underwater at the lake. The lake is the heart of this oasis and it hasn't dried up in a very long time. The lake itself is also teeming with life, for a variety of fish call it home, as do some more peculiar residents.
One is Kotlassia a relative of the earlier Seymouria, unlike its relative, however, Kotlassia is a semi aquatic predator. This Kotlassia seems to be the only one of its kind left in the lake, at one time this lake would've been filled with not just Kotlassia, but also countless other amphibians some of which would dwarf the Kotlassia. Most of these amphibians are now gone from the lake and very likely they are completely extinct, this leaves this Kotlassia as the king of the lake.
Another denizen of the lake is this Campylocephalus permianus, a creature from a bygone era for it is a eurypterid. At 4.6 feet long Campylocephalus is a rather large eurypterid and it is also one of the last of its kind. Eurypterids have been in decline since the Devonian and the Permian period saw an even larger drop in their numbers, now the Great Dying is slowly killing off the last of them, as their habitat dries up their numbers grow smaller and smaller. Camplyocephalus itself is rather similar to the earlier Hibbertopterus and it lives a similar lifestyle. Like the Kotlassia, this Camplyocephalus is the only one in this lake and its life hangs in the balance, should the lake dry up it will be doomed.
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Back on dry ground, the Inostrancevia family relaxes in the shade. The afternoon temperatures have in no way subsided and so the family is happy to enjoy the shade. As they rest, the mother suddenly hears something and immediately she perks up and looks around. She looks in the direction of the sound and spots an entire herd of pig-like animals emerging from over one of the dunes. It's an entire herd of refugees, looking for sanctuary in the great desert and it seems that they have found it.
These are Vivaxosaurus, a genus of dicynodont related to Lystrosaurus. In some ways they are similar to Lystrosaurus and yet they are simultaneously very different. Like Lystrosaurus, Vivaxosaurus are pig sized dicynodonts and they even have a similar body plan, however they lead a different lifestyle to their close relative. While Lystrosaurus spend much of their time in burrows, Vivaxosaurus spend their lives above ground, traveling across open areas and feeding on vegetation, they are always on the move. In the past few thousand years, life has been tough for them just like its been for every other animal.
This herd has lost much of their number to the brutal desert conditions and now only a small fraction of them remain. The survivors have been granted a temporary relief by the lake and it doesn't take long for them to begin gulping down water. The Inostrancevia mother watches them with some interest for they will make for good potential prey once she grows hungry again. Unfortunately for the mother, there is another predator that is thinking the same thing and it has been trailing the herd for months now. Emerging from over the dune that the herd came over is the other apex predator of Late Permian Russia, meet Megawhaitsia.
Megawhatisia is not a gorgonopsid, rather it is part of the related therocephalians. While the gorgonopsids have been the dominant Late Permian clade, the therocephalians have remained rather successful themselves, being found throughout Pangea and some like Megawhaitsia have become large enough to challenge the gorgonopsids. Megawhaitisa itself lacks the saber fangs of the Inostrancevia, however it makes up for this with powerful jaws. The jaws themselves are short and robust with massive muscles powering them, this gives Megawhaitsia a devastating bite in its own right. On top of this, Megawhaitsia's body is packed with muscle allowing it to wrestle large prey to the ground. Needless to say, Megawhaitsia is a formidable predator and a worthy challenger to Inostrancevia.
Of course clashes between these two apex predators are rare, as serious injuries are common in such contests. The Megawhaitsia is currently focused on getting something to drink, for he has had a long and arduous journey through the desert. The Vivaxosaurus, quickly begin to pack together as he approaches the edge of the lake. Luckily for them, the Megawhaitsia isn't concerned with them right now. He quickly quenches his thirst as the herd watches and he then heads towards the conifers to find a spot to rest.
The mother Inostrancevia, seeing that he isn't currently a threat, decides to lie back down and rest some more.
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A few days pass and for a time at least it is uneventful at the lake, all the animals continue to rest, however, there are signs that this calm won't last. In the sky there is still no sign of rain and as the sun continues to beat down, the lake is slowly shrinking, if it doesn't rain soon, the life of every animal here will be put in jeopardy. The animals of the water hole don't really seem to notice this impending doom, their more focused on day to day survival.
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As the early morning sun begins to shine, the Lystrosaurus begin to emerge from their burrows, they quickly begin to spread out and feed. Joining them are the Vivaxosaurus. The Lystrosaurus were initially taken aback by their new neighbors, but now they seem to have accepted them. As the mixed herd feeds, we find the little Dvinia sneaking through the group. He walks up to a fern and begins to feed on it, being an omnivore has its perks and it has helped Dvinia better deal with the harsh conditions.
The dicynodonts for their part pay the little Dvinia no mind, for they are more focused on feeding. After eating his fill, the Dvinia slinks off heading back for his burrow for he has no intention of being out in the midday heat. The dicynodonts for their part continue feeding and soon their joined by an interesting new companion. The Suminia has come down from the tree to feed with the dicynodonts. While Suminia mainly hang out in the trees, they will come down occasionally to feed on the nutritious ferns, however, they only really do this in the presence of other herbivores who can help look for danger.
One such danger has its eye on the herd. The Archosaurus scans the herd looking for any sign of weakness. While Archosaurus can't bring down large prey effectively, it knows that young animals and smaller creatures like Suminia are often found in these herds. Of course for now at least he doesn't see any openings and so he will simply have to wait and see if anything comes up.
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A few hours pass and the Lystrosaurus retreat to their burrows to escape the wrath of the midday sun. The Vivaxosaurus not having this option have to rely on other means of staying cool. Many lie in the shade of the conifers, others meanwhile rely on different methods. A couple of the Vivaxosaurus splash around in the water, for not only is it a good way to stay cool, but it is also quite fun.
The midday heat doesn't last forever and soon the evening brings lower temperatures. For the Vivaxosaurus it means that it is time to forage once again. They quickly spread out and begin to feed on the lush ferns, unfortunately for them the cool evenings also bring out other creatures. Watching from the treeline, is the Megawhaitsia and it is hungry today. The Megawhaitsia watches intently, looking for any sign of weakness in the herd.
It soon locks onto a potential target and it begins to creep in closer. Caution must be taken in all of this, while Vivaxosaurus don't look very threatening, they have powerful jaws for an herbivore and they are not afraid to use them if backed into a corner. The Megawhaitsia continues to get closer, its stocky build means that it is not built for long distance pursuits, it must get as close as possible to its prey before striking. Finally it gets into position and it charges at its target. The Vivaxosaurus bellow out in terror, as the herd takes off.
The Megawhaitisia swiftly closes the gap and tackles its target to the ground. The Vivaxosaurus has no time to even put up a struggle as the Megawhaitsia clamps down on its neck and snaps it after a short struggle, a swift clean kill. The Megawhaitsia swiftly digs in, ripping off chunks of flesh for consumption. Watching it from the treeline is the Archosaurus, it overheard the commotion and came to investigate, now it simply has to wait for the Megawhaitsia to eat its fill. The Megawhaitsia eats until it can't anymore and then it leaves the rest of the carcass for the scavengers.
The Archosaurus is quick to seize the opportunity and it quickly begins to feast on the carcass.
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Life goes on relatively slowly once again for a time at the water hole, as the residents continue their daily routines, these routines of course coincide with the rise and fall of the sun in the sky. Time continues to tick on as the days turn to weeks and the weeks soon turn to months, however, while everything seems calm at the lake, all is not what it seems. In the sky there is still no sign of rain and the harsh sun continues to evaporate more and more water. As if this wasn't bad enough the lakes residents continue to gulp down gallons of water by the day as they quench their thirst. The lake has only continued to shrink is size due to this.
Many of the plants have also begun to die, even those built to survive devastating droughts are being pushed to the brink. Needless to say, something has to give soon or every creature here may be doomed.
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At the edge of the lakeshore, tensions are rising as the water level falls. Even the herbivores are becoming more aggressive. Normally the Lystrosaurus and Vivaxosaurus live in relative harmony, but that is beginning to change. One of the bull Lystrosaurus angrily charges a pair of juvenile Vivaxosaurus chasing them away from some plants. Unfortunately for the Lystrosaurus, the juvenile's cries attract the attention of their mother.
The young's mother bellows angrily at the cantankerous Lystrosaurus getting its attention. The male Lystrosaurus roars back in response, puffing itself up in an attempt to look bigger. The female Vivaxosaurus bellows back and suddenly charges at the male and delivers a vicious bite causing the bull to scream in pain. The bull quickly retreats as the mother gives chase. Conflicts such as these occur throughout the watering hole ranging from simple shouting matches, to vicious physical fights.
Smaller animals like the Dvinia and Suminia must tread cautiously as they attempt to get their daily drink, for all the larger herbivores can easily trample them should they so please. The Lystrosaurus and Vivaxosaurus aren't the only cantankerous animals here as this pair is about to find out. One of the Vivaxosaurus cries out in pain as it accidentally steps on the resident Kotlassia, leading the amphibian to deliver a swift bite in response. The large amphibian was resting, until it was interrupted by the herbivores. Life has been tough on it recently too, for its home is becoming smaller and smaller by the day.
Its main prey, the fish that live in the lake are also dying in droves as they are running out of space. Time is running out quickly for the community. Back above the surface the cacophony of noise continues and it has left the herd vulnerable, for while they are distracted they fail to notice dangers creeping about. Watching from the treeline, is the female Inostrancevia, now is the best time to make a kill, with the herd distracted, they likely won't even notice her presence until it's too late. The Inostrancevia begins to sneak towards the herd looking for a good target.
She singles out one of the Lystrosaurus and then she begins to creep closer. The Suminia suddenly takes notice and lets out an alarm cry, however, the noise from the herd drowns it out. The Inostrancevia bursts out from the treeline, as the herd finally notices and they quickly forget their grievances as a panic ensues. The female Inostrancevia rapidly closes the gap, as the Lystrosaurus attempts to escape to its burrow. The Inostranecevia is faster, however, and it pounces on the Lystrosaurus back causing it to cry out, as she pulls it down and delivers the fatal neck bite.
Blood pours out of the Lystrosaurus neck and within seconds, it is dead. The female Inostrancevia calls her young to come join her and they begin to feed. Life has been tough for them recently as well, however, one good thing is that the shrinking lake has made a perfect hunting ground.
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Days continue to pass as the sun brutally beats down on the region. The lake has continued to shrink in size and it is becoming a breeding ground for disease. As the Lystrosaurus and Vivaxosaurus gather around the water, they routinely defecate in it. This causes the water to become nasty and filled with parasites, despite this the many animals of the area are forced to drink from it due to the lack of options. The lack of water, has also begun to kill many of the plants here.
The small grove of conifers have mostly expired leaving the animals that use them in a dire spot. The Rautiania and the Suminia are particularly hard hit by this and they are doomed, the lack of shelter means that they are both now living on borrowed time.
Some animals try to make the best of the brutal conditions, the young Inostrancevia for example still run around and play like nothing has happened. They wrestle and playfully bite at each other. Nearby their mother gets some much needed rest under a tree, she lacks their energy needless to say. The youngsters' play leads them away from the watchful eye of their mother and as they get further from her, they put themselves in greater danger. Watching them from a shrub is the Archosaurus.
The young Inostrancevia are within the size range to be potential prey for the reptilian carnivore, however, he doesn't make a move, for he is not the only one eyeing them. As the young play, they fail to notice another danger moving in. One of the young suddenly spots something heading right for them, it's the Megawhaitsia. Inostrancevia are the primary competitor for Megawhaitsia and killing the young will rid this male of a potential future threat. The young yelp out in fear as they run and this gets the attention of their mother, as she immediately jumps to her feet.
She bolts heading right for her young. The Megawhaitsia meanwhile runs towards the young only to suddenly be intercepted, as the young's mother jumps on his side knocking him to the dirt, however, the Megawhaitsia is able to use the momentum to roll through and end up on top. He quickly attempts a swift throat bite, however, the mother is able to use her strong forelimbs to keep him away from her neck. She then pushes the Megawhaitsia off with a massive shove and she quickly gets back to her feet. The mother then seizes the opportunity as the springs forward and wraps her arms around the Megawhaitsia's neck as she looks for the fatal throat bite to end it all.
The Megawhaitsia hides his vulnerable neck, as he tries to dislodge the mother. The mother for her part takes what she can get, as she sinks her teeth into the Megawhatisia's shoulder blade, causing him to howl in pain. Blood rapidly pours from the now open wound, as the Megawhaitsia tries to dislodge the mother. He finally shakes the mother off, as the pair begin to circle snarling at each other. The young for their part look on anxiously, as do many of the herbivores, who overheard the commotion and are now stopping to watch.
The pair continue to circle, blood continues dripping from the Megawhaitsia's wound. The heat makes fighting even more tiring than it already is and normally the pair would have already quit, however, the mother will not risk the Megawhaitsia attempting to attack her young again and so she chooses to keep the fight going. The pair charge each other as they both rear up on their back legs and embrace each other as they both wrestle. The bulkier build of the Megawhaitsia wins out, as he overpowers the mother and pushes her to the ground. He then clamps down on her torso causing the mother to roar out in pair.
The mother in response claws the face of the Megawhaitsia causing him to let go, she then bites down on his right front paw. The Megawhaitsia roars out in pain, as he yanks his paw free and angrily pushes forward pressing the mother's face into the dirt. He then grabs her neck as the mother roars out into pain, as he rapidly shakes his head from side to side. The Megawhatisia stops suddenly, as the brutal heat begins to get to him. Satisfied with having won the fight, the male walks off. The mother lays there, she is alive but in critical condition.
She climbs to her feet and heads to the tree, her young in hot pursuit. She then lies down, her young desperately calling for her. Soon the sun begins to set as the night is filled by the frantic calls of the young. The next morning reveals the outcome, the mother expired in the night. Her young desperately call for her, seemingly unaware that she has died.
Soon scavengers will arrive to enjoy the spoils and the young will be forced away from the carcass when this happens.
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Nearby the Megawhaitsia rest, while he has won the fight, he himself is in rough shape. The brutal wounds from the fight are still present and infections are always a risk, his shoulder in particular is covered in a large gash and soon he may very well join the female Inostrancevia.
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As the days continue to pass, it only continues to get worse for the animals of the lake, which has now shrunk to a simple water hole no more than 6 feet deep. In response the Vivaxosaurus make a sudden decision and they leave migrating once again in search of better pastures. The Megawhaitsia watches as his prey leaves the area, his injuries leave him unable to follow the Vivaxosaurus herd as they move out. The Lystrosaurus meanwhile have a different response to the harsh conditions and they hunker down in their burrows preparing to hibernate. The ability to hibernate gives the Lystrosaurus a distinct edge over the Vivaxosaurus, as they can simply hunker down for months at a time.
Of course they can only do this for so long and if it doesn't rain soon even their survival could be in jeopardy. All around the water hole many animals have already died, the Suminia and the Rautiania are among the casualties, the lack of water and the destruction of their homes has proven too much for them to deal with. Meanwhile hunger has begun to get to the Megawhaitsia and his search leads him to the water hole. He peers in as he takes notice of something and he suddenly dives right in and pulls that something out. Its the Camplyocephalus, he begins to drag the kicking eurypterid to his spot under one of the many now dead conifers.
He begins to tear into the Camplyocephalus. Camplyocephalus will be among the many casualties of the Great Dying as will be eurypterids as a whole, a once great dynasty doomed to extinction. For the Megawhaitsia this has bought him some more time, but not much it remains to be seen what his fate will be.
...
A month later and a few miles away from the water hole, we find a white charred skull of a Vivaxosaurus, the herd didn't get far. It seems that the vast desert has consumed yet more victims. Vivaxosaurus will be yet another casualty of the Great Dying, as will many dicynodonts.
...
Back at the water hole we find the charred white skull of the mother Inostrancevia laying where she died. Her young continue to wander the area, the water hole is now almost nothing, thick layers of mud cake around it and there is only a bare minimum of water remaining. Underneath the thick layers of mud is the Kotlassia, he attempted to hibernate through the harshness of the drought in a thick cocoon, but this effort was all for nothing, for he has expired under the mud. The young drink some of the little remaining water, soon it will be gone too. The young begin to explore around the area as they find an interesting sight.
Laying under a tree is the Megawhaitsia, however, he is motionless. The young remain hesitant for he could simply be sleeping. Curiosity gets the better of them as they nudge the Megawhaitsia and get no response. It seems that he has finally died from his injuries and the young begin to feed ravenously on the carcass. The carcass will feed them for a time, however, it will be only a temporary relief.
...
A week later and we find the water hole is now completely barren. All the water has dried up the last remnants of a once great lake bed and one of the last bastions of hope in this brutal hellscape, is now gone. The area itself is mostly empty outside of dead vegetation. Most of the former residents have fallen victim to the scorching sun, the skull of the once great Megawhaitsia sits where he died under the tree, most of the rest of his remains have been scattered by scavengers. Nearby we find another victim, one of the young Inostrancevia has succumbed to dehydration under the baking sun.
Its sibling is nowhere to be seen, however, it is almost certain that it too is yet another victim. Some of the tougher animals are hanging in there believe it or not, for example patrolling the dried up water hole, is the Archosaurus. The Archosaurus ability to go without water for long periods of time is allowing it to hang on, however, even it is being pushed to the brink. Luckily the Archosaurus has a final trick up its sleeve. The Archosaurus walks finds an abandoned Lystrosaurus burrow and promptly prepares to den down in it.
Like Lystrosaurus, Archosaurus has the ability to hibernate through harsh times and he can remain in such a state for months. Whether or not this will be enough remains to be seen.
...
Elsewhere we find another resident currently hibernating. The Dvinia has hunkered down and it is also hibernating. The little synapsid has been in this state for about a week now, but like the other creatures here its survival is in no way guaranteed.
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Days continue to pass as it seems there is no sign of respite. The mud begins to crack and dry out swiftly under the baking sun and the water hole itself is nearly devoid of any animals. To the east the Siberian Traps continue to pour out lava and pump out carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The Earth is in a sorry state, but even in the planet's darkest hour there are still signs of hope. In the sky storm clouds are brewing blowing in from the east and they aren't filled with the acid rain that most storms now are, rather they are filled with water.
Rain pours profusely from the clouds soaking the whole area in water. The water hole begins to fill up once more as the rain comes down hard. The rains draw out hibernating residents. A Lystrosaurus, pops its head out as it rushes to quench its thirst, joined by other members of its kind. Soon they are joined by the Archosaurus and even the Dvinia makes its way out of its burrow.
The rains last a few days and bring much needed relief for the animals here. Of course the relief is only temporary for the Great Dying is not over, soon the scorching sun will return and the animals here will be forced to struggle to survive once again, however, it will be among the survivors who tough it out that life will begin to recover.
...
The Great Dying would lasts for thousands of years and yet eventually it would finally end. The Siberian Traps would eventually burn themselves out and yet the side effects would be felt for millions of years to come. 96% of life in the water and 70% of life on land would go extinct. All of the gorgonopsids and pareiasaurs would be among the casualties, these icons of the Late Permian were now gone, never to return. They wouldn't be the only ones as many creatures like Suminia and the weigeltosaurs would also be wiped out.
Even insects would see significant losses, with some orders like the once successful palaeodictyopterans being completely wiped out by the extinction. Even families that ultimately survived like the therocephalians and the dicynodonts would see massive losses. In spite of all of this, all hope would not be lost and even the Great Dying wouldn't be enough to snuff out every living thing, for life is far more resilient than that. As the Paleozoic comes to an end, it is the end of one era and the dawn of a new one and for the survivors, new opportunities have appeared and as the sun sets on the Permian and the dust settles, the Triassic period is set to begin and in the aftermath the survivors are poised to begin to pick up the pieces and come back stronger than ever.
Trivia
This episode is based on a hodgepodge of many Late Permian fossil beds found in Western Russia.
The title is obviously a reference to the common nickname for the Permian Triassic Extinction Event.
The basic plot for this episode is an homage to WWM's own Late Permian segment, albeit with my own spin on it.
Originally I planned to have the mother Inostrancevia win her fight with the Megawhaitsia, however, this was changed as I felt this outcome was not only too predictable, but it also allowed her death to be more shocking.
The scene where the Megawhaitsia catches the Camplyocephalus is based off a deviantart image of the same concept, albeit they used an Inostranceiva instead.
I originally planned to have the Archosaurus kill the last juvenile Inostrancevia, however, I couldn't find a good way to organically integrate the scene and so it was cut.
I am aware of the theory that Inostrancevia died out before the Great Dying and that Megawhaitsia took its role as the apex predator, however, I don't really subscribe to this theory for a few reasons that I won't really get into rn hence why I included it and Scutosaurus for that matter.
Thus out look into the Paleozoic ends and yet the story is not yet finished for there are still 2 more chapters in this story so stay tuned…