See the ‘bloodthirsty’ apex predators that roamed Earth millions of years before the dinosaurs

These carnivores were classic — well before Jurassic.

A new archeological study has uncovered further evidence of the apex predators said to have “dominated” the Earth 40 million years ahead of the dinosaurs, “as the biggest and most bloodthirsty meat eater” of that era.

A nearly complete skull of the Pampaphoneus biccai, estimated to be 265 million years old, was recovered in fossil form in the southern, rural region of São Gabriel, Brazil.

“This animal was a gnarly-looking beast, and it must have evoked sheer dread in anything that crossed its path,” stated one of the scientists involved, Stephanie E. Pierce, co-author of a paper published by Harvard University in partnership with other organizations.

She added, “Its discovery is key to providing a glimpse into the community structure of terrestrial ecosystems just prior to the biggest mass extinction of all time.”

It was the second-ever skull of the species found in South America.

“Finding a new Pampaphoneus skull after so long was extremely important for increasing our knowledge about the animal, which was previously difficult to differentiate from its Russian relatives,” said lead author Mateus A. Costa Santos.

The beast was also known to roam in the region we now know as Russia.

Pampaphoneus biccai was a part of the therapsid family — who were ancient predecessors to mammals — known as dinocephalians.

They “lived just before the largest extinction event in the history of Earth that eliminated 86% of all animal species worldwide,” according to a press release announcing the study’s completion.

For modern day neanderthals living under under a rock, the extinction event was caused by a major scale asteroid, which struck the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico 66 million years ago.

“Before the extinction event, dinocephalians were one of the major groups of large terrestrial animals that thrived on land,” the release added, noting the “medium to large” size beings — ones that could be three meters in length and dense as 400 kilograms — had herbivores among them as well.

“Pampaphoneus played the same ecological role as modern big cats,” said senior study author Felipe Pinheiro.

“It was the largest terrestrial predator we know of from the Permian in South America. The animal had large, sharp canine teeth adapted for capturing prey. Its dentition and cranial architecture suggest that its bite was strong enough to chew bones, much like modern-day hyenas.”

These dinosaur predecessors were especially known for having “thick cranial bones.”

Such a composition inspired their lengthy name, which translates to “terrible head” in Greek.