Palaeontology

Prehistoric crocodile-like reptile was so fast it could outrun a dog

By T.K. Randall
March 23, 2026 ·  3 comments

Image: Nile Crocodile
Credit: Leigh Bedford / CC BY 2.0 (adapted) The British Isles certainly don't have any crocodiles roaming wild in them today, but 215 million years ago, the Triassic landscape was home to a particularly intriguing crocodylomorph.

This early ancestor of modern crocodiles was quite unlike anything we see today.

Known as Galahadosuchus jonesi, this curious creature preferred dry land over water and was built for speed, with long slender legs and a more lightweight frame.

It was thought to have hunted prey such as small mammals, amphibians and reptiles.The fossil remains, which were discovered along the Bristol Channel, were detailed in a new study authored by Natural History Museum PhD student Ewan Bodenham.

"My PhD project is looking at the evolutionary relationships of these early crocodiles," he said.

"So we conducted a detailed anatomical description of this specimen, making comparisons to other early crocodiles to determine if it was another specimen of Terrestrisuchus or if it was something new."

215 million years ago, when this crocodylomorph roamed the Earth, the region that is now the UK was covered in a predominantly dry, arid landscape teeming with countless strange and unusual creatures.

The findings help to add one more piece to the puzzle of what this prehistoric world might have been like.

Source: Science Daily | Comments (3)

Tags: Crocodile