WASHINGTON (AP) - A 20-foot-long crocodile with three sets of
fangs - like wild boar tusks - roamed parts of northern Africa
millions of years ago, researchers report Thursday.
While this fearsome creature hunted meat, not far away another
newly found type of croc with a wide, flat snout like a pancake was
fishing for food.
And a smaller, 3-foot-long relative with buckteeth was chomping
plants and grubs in the same region.
The three new species, along with new examples of two previously
known ancient crocodiles, were being detailed Thursday by
researchers Paul Sereno of the University of Chicago and Hans
Larsson of McGill University in Montreal. They were speaking at a
news conference organized by the National Geographic Society, which
sponsored the research.
"These species open a window on a croc world completely foreign
to what was living on northern continents," Sereno said of the
unusual animals that lived 100 million years ago on the southern
continent known as Gondwana.
The researchers suggest that these crocs could gallop across the
landscape chasing prey and yet also dive into the water that then
existed in the region and swim.
"My African crocs appeared to have had both upright, agile legs
for bounding overland and a versatile tail for paddling in water,"
Sereno wrote in an article for National Geographic magazine.
"Their amphibious talents in the past may be the key to
understanding how they flourished in, and ultimately survived, the
dinosaur era."
The newly discovered species are:
- Kaprosuchus saharicus, nicknamed "BoarCroc," found in Niger.
BoarCroc was a 20-foot-long meat-eater with an armored snout for
ramming and three sets of dagger-shaped fangs for slicing.
- Araripesuchus rattoides, which the researchers call
"RatCroc," found in Morocco. This 3-foot-long croc was a plant-
and grub-eater with a pair of buckteeth in lower jaw it used to dig
for food.
- Laganosuchus thaumastos, or "PancakeCroc," found in Niger
and Morocco. Also 20 feet long, it was a squat fish-eater with a
3-foot pancake-flat head and spike-shaped teeth on slender jaws.
Sereno said it probably remained motionless for hours, its jaws
open and waiting for prey.
In addition the researchers found new fossils of two previously
named species:
- Anatosuchus minor, "DuckCroc," found in Niger, a 3-foot-long
fish-, frog- and grub-eater with a broad snout and Pinocchio-like
nose. Special sensory areas on the snout end allowed it to root
around on the shore and in shallow water for prey. Its closest
relative is in Madagascar.
- Araripesuchus wegeneri, or "DogCroc," found in Niger, a
3-foot-long plant- and grub-eater with a soft, doglike nose
pointing forward.
Sereno has focused since 2000 on fossils in the Sahara Desert,
his first find being Sarcosuchus imperator, a 40-foot-long creature
that would have weighed 8 tons and which he called SuperCroc.
The new findings are detailed in the journal ZooKeys as well as
National Geographic magazine and a documentary scheduled for
Saturday on the National Geographic Channel.