Walrus-like species roamed Europe’s shores 2 million years ago. It was just discovered

Two million years ago, a walrus-like creature with large tusks roamed the shores of northern Europe.

The now-extinct species was recently discovered by paleontologists using fossils found in the U.K. and Belgium, according to a study published Aug. 13 in the journal PeerJ Life & Environment.

The partial fossils, unearthed in Norwich and Antwerp, were originally believed to belong to an existing species, known as Ontocetus emmonsi.

However, an analysis of the fossil jaw bones revealed several unique features that distinguished it as a previously unidentified species, according to a news release accompanying the study.

The newfound species, named Ontocetus posti, “displays surprising similarities in feeding adaptations to the modern walrus, highlighting an intriguing case of convergent evolution,” according to the release.

It would have had four post-canine teeth, as well as a larger lower canine.

These features would have made it, like its modern relative, proficient at suction feeding, a technique that entails using pressure to suck molluscs from their shells.

“This is a very specialized way of life, and the jaw of Ontocetus posti captures a fascinating moment in its evolution,” James Rule, an expert on walruses at the Natural History Museum in the U.K., said in a museum news release. (Search in museum release: fascinating)

The species dates to the Pleistocene era, which spanned from 2.5 million to around 11,000 years ago.

It originated in the North Pacific Ocean, eventually fanning out into the Atlantic, likely through the Central American Seaway, a body of water that once separated North America from South America.

The species went extinct about 1.7 million years ago as a result of changes in the Earth’s climate, according to the museum.

“Walruses like Ontocetus depend on shallow water to find food in, so as sea levels fell these habitats would have slowly disappeared,” Rule said in the release. “The wider climate changes are also thought to have affected mollusc populations, leaving these specialists with less and less to eat.”

Today, only one species of the walrus family remains, Odobenus rosmaru.

They are made up of two unique subspecies, which are distributed throughout the Arctic, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.