Towards the end of the Cretaceous period, North America was divided in two by a giant inland sea. Dinosaurs, nearing the end of their reign, still abounded in this hot and humid place. But they had to watch their steps, especially at the water’s edge, because there was Deinosuchus , the “crocodile of terror.”
This extinct giant crocodile was the largest carnivore in its semi-aquatic environment . Now a new study by researchers at the University of Iowa has reviewed existing fossil evidence and looked at freshly collected fossil specimens and their phylogenetic reassessment suggests that three distinct species of Deinosuchus can be discerned in the fossil record: the suggested type species D. riograndensis, D. hatcheri , and a recently identified species, D. schwimmeri.
“Deinosuchus was a giant that must have terrorized the dinosaurs who came to the water’s edge to drink,” says paleontologist Adam Cossette of the New York Institute of Technology and leader of the work. “Until now, the complete animal was unknown. These new specimens that we have examined reveal a monstrous and strange predator with teeth the size of bananas.”
While the oldest known specimen of Deinosuchus to date is roughly 82 million years old, the researchers say there is likely a common ancestral population for all the different species, and it would have existed in North America before the rise of the sea level led to the western interior seaway that cut the continent in the middle.
These giant creatures, measuring up to 10 meters long , were some of the largest and most fearsome crocodiles in history, and had an appearance closer to modern alligators than crocodiles.
Were they scavengers or predators?
“I guess it was a predator. This creature was big enough to take down most of the dinosaurs. Also, interestingly, most of the bites we see are on the bones of the legs and tail. If you’re going to grab a dinosaur, that’s the place where I would catch them, “says the expert.
Referencia: Adam P. Cossette et al, A systematic review of the giant alligatoroid Deinosuchus from the Campanian of North America and its implications for the relationships at the root of Crocodylia, Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology (2020). DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2020.1767638
