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Palaeontology

Huge bus-sized crocodile dug up in Tunisia

By T.K. Randall
January 13, 2016 · Comment icon 8 comments

Machimosaurus rex was a gigantic and deadly predator. Image Credit: CC BY-SA 3.0 Ghedoghedo
A terrifying new species of crocodile known as Machimosaurus rex has been unearthed in the Sahara.
A true prehistoric behemoth, this enormous sea-dwelling crocodile measured over 30ft long and weighed in at more than three tons. The largest crocodile ever to roam the world's oceans, Machimosaurus would have been a force to be reckoned with over 130 million years ago.

"It's just big. It's almost the size of a bus," said study lead author Federico Fanti. "It definitely was at the top of the food chain at the time, at least in this particular locality."
The crocodile's fossil remains were uncovered beneath three inches of sediment in Tunisia during a dig supported by the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration.

The find has also cast doubt on previous studies suggesting that the group of crocodiles M. rex belonged to had been wiped out by a mass extinction event around 20 million years earlier.

"That's leading us to consider the mass extinction theory is wrong and that we should better understand what's going on at the end of the Jurassic period," said Fanti.

Source: NDTV | Comments (8)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by TheGreatBeliever 9 years ago
Hope there be a dino zoo one day. Jurassic worlds ambience was beautiful. Had a mixture of mordern, traditional n nature.
Comment icon #2 Posted by Dark_Grey 9 years ago
30 feet!
Comment icon #3 Posted by Still Waters 9 years ago
'Crikey' as the late Steve Irwin would have probably said. That's one size of a beast!
Comment icon #4 Posted by davros of skaro 9 years ago
leviathan! 'Crikey' as the late Steve Irwin would have probably said. That's one size of a beast! What a ripper!
Comment icon #5 Posted by Iron_Lotus 9 years ago
Comment icon #6 Posted by MissJatti 9 years ago
If it's already got a name (Machimosaurus Rex), then how can it be a new species??..
Comment icon #7 Posted by pallidin 9 years ago
If it's already got a name (Machimosaurus Rex), then how can it be a new species??.. See here: https://en.wikipedia...i/Machimosaurus
Comment icon #8 Posted by bubblykiss 9 years ago
That guy should team up with Tic Toc The Croc and get Cap't Hook. But no really, the diversity among the water reptile linage is just amazing.


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