A giant Cretaceous period Crocodile loved ones are hunted dinosaursTear them off using powerful jaws with “banana” size teeth, the researchers said.
Known as Deinosuchus, Meaning “terrible alligator” in Greek, this semi-static reptile has certainly lived up to its name. They are among the largest predators in the multinational habitat in North America, where they lived 75 million to 82 million years ago. And with bodies at least 33 feet (10 meters) long, they could subdue any animal that roamed within reach – including dinosaurs.
Paleontologists have previously identified three species of the crocs terrorist. But some experts believe that the fossil evidence identifying this species is incomplete and that the three species may be just one species that lives across the continent. Scientists recently reevaluated the fossils of the so-called terror crocodile, merging existing species and describing a new species, Deinosuchus schwimmeri, in a new study.
Related: Crocs & dinosaurs: See pictures of 25 amazing ancient beasts
In addition to having banana-sized teeth, new teeth are described D. schwimmeri Adam Cossette, an associate professor at Arkansas State University, of the New York Institute of Technology for Osteoarthritis, said it was “a bizarre, monstrous predator.”
; Cossette and his colleagues described the new species by sampling fossils from all over North America and by assessing new terrorist croc fossils from western Texas, according to the study.“So far, the complete animal is unknown,” Cossette said in a statement. This species name pays tribute to paleontologist David Schwimmer, professor at Columbus State University in Georgia (not to be confused with actor David Schwimmer, who played paleontologist from the American Museum of Natural History. in New York City, on the TV show “Friends”).
Deinosuchus are crocodylians – the group includes crocodile, crocodile and gharials – and despite the name “terrible crocodile”, Deinosuchus The researchers determined that the lineage was more closely related to the crocodile. They also found that species D. rugosus may have been misidentified. D. rugosus The fossil (of which very few) could have come from two other species – D. riograndensis or D. schwimmeri – both described later but boast more complete fossil sets.
Species status of the croc terrorist D. hatchheri, also based on meager and fragmentary fossil evidence, is also questionable, the authors report.
D. schwimmeri inhabited by the east coast of North America and the Atlantic coast, while D. riograndensis and D. hatchheri live in the West; The study authors wrote at the time that the Western Inland Sea was geographically divided between the eastern and western species.
But no matter what species, “Deinosuchus being a giant would definitely have to terrorize the dinosaurs to the edge of the water to drink, “said Cossette.
When Deinosuchus has shared many features with its crocodylian relatives, a few specials that set them apart. According to the study, their long and broad heads end in an onion-shaped snout – a unique shape in this group of reptiles, according to the study. At the end of the muzzle are two large vents, which are also unique to the Deinosuchus.
Scientists have yet to discover the function of the muzzle’s aperture and shape, although they may be involved in thermostats and may have helped terror crocs stay cool, according to the study.
Study co-author Christopher Brochu, paleontologist and professor at the Department of Earth and Environmental Science at the University of Iowa, said: “It’s a strange animal. The findings were published online on August 10 in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Originally published on Live Science.
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