Palaeontology

Pre-dinosaur crocodile relative unearthed

By T.K. Randall
January 22, 2015 ·  6 comments

Nundasuchus was a distant cousin of modern day crocodiles. Image Credit: CC BY 2.0 Spencer Wright Measuring 9ft long and equipped with a mouth full of deadly knife-like teeth, the new species appears to feature traits of both birds and crocodylians. It's name, Nundasuchus songeaensis, translates to "predator crocodile" in a mixture of Swahili and Greek.

It was originally discovered in Tanzania in 2007 and scientists have since spent hundreds of hours cleaning and reconstructing the bones to help them learn as much as possible.

"The reptile itself was heavy bodied, with limbs under its body like a dinosaur or bird, but with bony plates on its back like a crocodilian," said geologist Prof Sterling Nesbitt.Nundasuchus was an undoubtedly capable predator, roaming the Earth at a time when dinosaurs had yet to dominate the planet. With its strong jaws and razor sharp teeth it would have posed a formidable threat to any smaller reptiles unfortunate enough to cross its path.

The discovery has been hailed as particularly important as it could help to fill gaps in the reptile family tree and increase our understanding of how both crocodiles and birds came to evolve.

"There's such a huge gap in our understanding around the time when the common ancestor of birds and crocodilians was alive," said Prof Nesbitt.

"There isn't a lot out there in the fossil record from that part of the reptile family tree."

Source: Live Science | Comments (6)

Tags: Crocodile, Fossil, Triassic