Researchers rediscover fossils of ‘Simbakubwa kutoka Afrika’, a historic giant mammal that lived in Kenya more than 22 million years ago

By Samuel Abuya

Mid last month, visiting researchers in Kenya found fossils of what they named’ Simbakubwa kutoka Afrika’ and described as a new species of a giant meat-eating mammal with huge fangs which is believed to have lived and roamed in the East African area more than 22 million years ago.

According to a study report published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the mammal is said to have been bigger than any big cat, bigger than a polar bear. The skull of Simbakubwa is larger than that of a rhinoceros with huge piercing canine teeth and is thought to have been quite intimidating in the East African ecosystems that were occupied by early apes and monkeys.

The fossils of Simbakubwa kutoka Afrika, estimated to be 22-million-years old, were unearthed in Kenya decades ago by researchers who were canvassing the region looking for evidence of the existence of early apes. Specimens of the fossils were housed at the National Museum of Kenya but were not really given a lot of attention until a time when Ohio University researchers Dr. Nancy Stevens and Dr. Mathew Borths rediscovered them.

“Opening a museum drawer, we saw a row of gigantic meat-eating teeth, clearly belonging to a species new to science,” says study lead author Borths.

The researchers say Simbakubwa, which translates to ‘big lion’ in English, is believed to be on top of the food chain in the African ecosystem as the lion is today. However, Simbakubwa was not closely related to any mammalian carnivore living today, not even the big cats. Simbakubwa was related to hyaenodonts, an extinct group of mammals which were literally the first mammals in Africa.

The study that led to the rediscovery of this new creature was funded by the National Science Foundation.

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