In China, paleontologists have uncovered a strange marine reptile with a duck-like beak similar to a platypus.

The fossil was discovered in two counties in the Hubei Province and dates back to 248 million years. Named Eohupehsuchus brevicollis, this creature is classified under a mysterious Triasssic marine reptile branch called the hupehsuchians.

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This bizarre prehistoric platypus measures some 40 centimeters across and lived in shallow waters near inland seas. It's also the distant cousin of the ichthyosaur.

This fossil can be the living equivalent of the duck-billed platypus from Australia, According to lead author Ryosuke Motani from the University of California, Davis. Both look similar with their skull and beak like a duck's, along with a heavy build with thick bones that can paddle through water.

The newly discovered prehistoric species fed on worms and shrimps because of its unusual duck beak that can sift through underwater sediment found on the sea floor.

Most hupehsuchians have a distinct moderately long neck that consists of nine to 10 cervical vertebrae. Eohupehsuchus brevicollis, however, is the first of its kind to possess a really short neck with only six cervical vertebrae.

The fossil was uncovered in 2011 amidst a systematic excavation in Yuan'an County in Hubei Province supervised by the Geological Survey of China.

Although hupehsuchians have been known during the last half century, this newest discovery presents important information these creatures were more diverse than previously thought.

Motani adds these new specimens may be bizarre but they possess a lot of diversity in them. The hupehsuchians lived until the end of the Permian mass extinction event or the Great Dying about 252 million years ago that killed 96 percent of marine life and 70 percent of terrestrial life, including land animals and plants.

Motani says this is the deadliest mass extinction event on Earth and it took a long time for life to recover. This new discovery shows so much diversity after a mass extinction.

This study was published on the online journal, PLOS One.

TagsBizarre Prehistoric Platypus Discovered in China, platypus, prehistoric ancient platypus china bizarre strange