One such error is the assumption that crocodiles were so persistent because they had such a great potential for physical violence. One of the world’s most well-known apex predators, inhabiting five of the Earth’s continents, a living dinosaur… Or is it? Why would a crocodile that grew to lengths of a dozen yards (its head alone was over six feet long) have subsisted on microscopic creatures? http://www.palaeocritti.com/_/rsrc/1265511132370/by-group/crocodylomorpha/erpetosuchus/Erpetosuchus_sk.jpg, Middle Cretaceous period. The evolutionary purpose of this anatomy was, according to current scientific opinion, to be able to submerge the rest of the body at the surface of the water with a minimum of recognition , i.e. King of the Crocodylians: The Paleobiology of Deinosuchus.
This ranges from such things as temperatures, thermals, humidity, gravity, centrifugal force, acceleration and everything that can be classified under the kinetics and dynamics. Unusually for such a widespread and well-known crocodile, paleontologists have adduced no fossil evidence of Metriorhynchus nests or hatchlings, so it's unknown whether this reptile gave birth at sea to live young or returned laboriously to land to lay its eggs, like a marine turtle. 302: 84. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2007)302[1:taoeoa]2.0.co;2. Reptiles arose directly from the amphibians, a diverse group of animals at that time. I liked how you touched on the ancestors of the crocodile as well. I love all the pictures. The earliest crocs were small, terrestrial, two-legged sprinters, and many were vegetarian. The latest in a long line of giant prehistoric "crocs," including SuperCroc (aka Sarcosuchus) and BoarCroc (aka Kaprosuchus), the ShieldCroc, also known as Aegisuchus, was a giant, river-dwelling crocodile of middle Cretaceous northern Africa. RATIONALE. Dibothrosuchus is technically classified as a "sphenosuchid crocodylomorph," not directly ancestral to modern crocodiles but more like a second cousin a few times removed; its closest relative seems to have been the even tinier Terrestrisuchus of late Triassic Europe, which may itself have been a juvenile of Saltoposuchus. The first Eusuchians evolved around 120 million years ago. ", Prehistoric Amphibian Pictures and Profiles, Prehistoric Reptile Pictures and Profiles, Facts and Figures About the Prehistoric Xilousuchus, Plesiosaur and Pliosaur Pictures and Profiles, Prosauropod Dinosaur Pictures and Profiles. I like the pictures you posted with your blog, it really added to it! The Geology of Australia.
Fossils of this giant were found throughout Northern Africa near other members of its reptilian family. Although World War II ended over 60 years ago, paleontologists are still feeling the effects today. This is a very close relative of the modern day crocodile, it had a large scull and small raised rim in front of the eyes. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0593:CVANCF]2.0.CO;2
It was during this final epic that the modern crocodile, Crocodylidae, first appeared as a distinct species and flourished. Swifts and swallows have focused on the same food source of insects flying in the air.
Of these, the alligators and the true crocodiles are more closely related to each other, and they are sometimes regarded as constituting two subfamilies of the family Crocodilidae. As crocodiles continued to evolve, the openings of the choanae tended to be located farther back. The largest known species, the Machimosaurus hugii, with a length of up to 12 meters, probably hunted for fish and turtles in the ocean as well as for large land animals on the shore, according to expert reconstructions, and its anatomy has far-reaching parallels with today's Saltwater Crocodiles. How Crocodiles Survived in a Dinosaur's World.
10 Facts About Sarcosuchus, the World’s Biggest Crocodile. Most Mesosuchians became extinct 65 million years ago, but some managed to survive in Australia until about 1 million years ago. Some authors regard the gavials as a third subfamily. Like most early crocodiles, Carnufex walked on its two hind legs, and probably feasted on small mammals as well as its fellow prehistoric reptiles. I think it is very interesting that crocodiles are still here today. The latest example of this trend is Tyrannoneustes, which was "diagnosed" from a 100-year-old museum specimen that had previously been identified as a plain-vanilla "metriorhynchid" (a breed of marine reptiles distantly related to crocodiles). In the air, the Pterosaurs were the largest animals capable of flight that probably ever existed.
Extinct groups represented only by fossils are indicated by a dagger (†). with what evolution had done in todays era maybe little geckos will one day be a crocodile in the far future. If those bones had been preserved, experts may, by now, have conclusively solved the riddle of this crocodile's diet: it seems that Stomatosuchus fed on tiny plankton and krill, much like a baleen whale, rather than on the land and river animals that populated Africa during the middle Cretaceous period. Ate dinosaurs and fish. Deinosuchus directly translates to “terrible crocodile” and its whopping weight of 10-15 tons explains why! Modern genetic studies of crocodilian DNA have been used to identify species differences and, in some cases, indicate natural hybridization. In contrast, the large fourth tooth on each side of the crocodile’s lower jaw projects outside the snout when the mouth is closed. Despite their fearsome mass, these giant crocodiles probably subsisted on largely on snakes and turtles. Dinos descending from the Phytosauria order shared many physical features with our beloved crocodile. [8] Nesbitt, S. (2007). This animal was nine feet long and 500 pounds, and they consume red meat who they hunted in the woodlands. Like all reptiles, crocodiles are diapsids—i.e., they have two openings on each side of the skull. Well-known examples are snakes and blindworms (Anguis fragilis), as well as swifts (Apus apus) and swallows (Hirundinidae). PMC 1560254.
This crocodilian lived in swamps in eastern Asia and ate small animals. Schmidt used the older term Crocodilia, based on Owen's original name for the group. They looked much like modern day crocodiles except their nostrils were located on the top of their head rather than the tops of their snout.
Dubbed "SuperCroc" by the media, Sarcosuchus looked and behaved like a modern crocodile, but it was a whole lot bigger--about the length of a city bus and the weight of a small whale! (1997). Marine Mesosuchians had flippers rather than feet and had a laterally compressed tails resembling those of sharks.
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