New species of ancient croc preyed on dinos

[Still Waters]

A new species of crocodile has been described from opalised fossils found at Lightning Ridge in NSW, Australia, from a fossil unearthed more than a century ago, and a second one found more than 70 years later.

Dating back 100 million years, the new species, Isisfordia molnari, is one of the oldest known direct ancestors of today's living crocodiles. The species was named after Ralph Molnar, a palaeontologist whose many valuable contributions to Australian science include research on fossil crocodiles. This is the second species of Isisfordia discovered, with Isisfordia duncaninamed in 2006 from fossils found near the Queensland outback town of Isisford.

Isisfordia molnari grew to between 1.5 and 2 metres in length, and is thought to have been a semi-aquatic ambush predator, like modern crocodiles. Its prey probably included small dinosaurs such as Weewarrasaurus.

https://phys.org/news/2019-06-ancient-croc-preyed-dinosaurs.html