The vast majority of the 700 species of dinosaurs that have been dominated our planet long ago were pretty imposing and scary creatures. But you know how nature operates: it’s always room for worse, and many of the dinosaurs themselves learned this lesson the hard way.
We should all be aware of crocodiles, but these sadistic and flesh-eating creatures were even more horrifying 75 million to 82 million years ago. Crocodiles’ ancestors known as Deinosuchus were so frightening that even dinosaurs were trembling at their sight.
North American crocodiles with teeth the size of bananas
The Deinosuchus were capable of eating even the largest species of dinosaurs with their huge fangs the size of bananas. This is the conclusion of a new study led by Adam Cossette, who is a paleontologist at the New York Institute of Technology. Cossette and his colleagues examined fossils of Deinosuchus, which doesn’t literally mean ‘terror crocodile’ for no reason. They identified three species of Deinosuchus: Deinosuchus hatcheri, Deinosuchus schwimmeri, and Deinosuchus riograndensis. All three species had been roaming various parts of territories that now belong to the US.
The lead author of the study declared:
Deinosuchus was a giant that must have terrorized dinosaurs that came to the water’s edge to drink,
He also added:
Until now, the complete animal was unknown. These new specimens we’ve examined reveal a bizarre, monstrous predator with teeth the size of bananas.
Christoper Brochu, who was also involved in the study, stated the obvious conclusion:
It shows that crocodylians are not ‘living fossils’ that haven’t changed since the age of dinosaurs. They’ve evolved just as dynamically as any other group.
Researchers also believe that the huge crocodiles were wiped out before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs, although there is no compelling explanation at the moment.
The new study was published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
