Overview

• The Triassic reptile Hupehsuchus had a long snout and used grooved jaws to filter-feed on plankton.
• Hupehsuchus lived 248 million years ago, tens of millions of years before the first whales.
• Its filter-feeding method converged on that of baleen whales, demonstrating convergent evolution.
• Hupehsuchus swam continuously to filter small prey through sieve-like structures in its mouth.
• This discovery provides evidence of vertebrate filter feeding earlier than previously known.