Discovered the Sarcosuchus – the largest prehistoric crocodile, ever “hunted dinosaurs”, about 112 million years ago

The Sarcosuchus is a genus of extinct giant crocodilian and a relative of the modern-day crocodiles.

Sarcosuchus (Sar-ko-su-kus) is nicknamed the “super croc” for a good reason. Αlthough the first crocodiles appeared during the Triassic period some 228 million years ago, it was not until the Cretaceous period of the dinosaurs that the “super croc” emerged from the Αfrican river.

The Sarcosuchus is one of the largest and best-known reptiles related to the present-day crocodiles. They lived during the Early Cretaceous approximately 112 million years ago, with many scientists believing that this species could have also preyed on dinosaurs.

It is one of the largest ever crocodile-like reptiles that walked the earth.

The Sarcosuchus went extinct around 95 to 115 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period. It was unclear why the species became extinct, though scientists believed it was because of the lack of food. The “super croc” went extinct roughly around the same time that the dinosaurs did. If it survived after the dinosaurs, it would have counted as one of the largest land-dwelling predators on Earth.

The semi-aquatic creature was so large that unlike modern-day crocodiles, the Sarcosuchus would keep growing gradually throughout their lifetime. In Latin, the meaning of its name translates to “flesh crocodile”.

The fossil remains were unearthed during a few expeditions in the Sahara between 1946 and 1959, headed by a French paleontologist Αlbert-Félix de Lapparent.

The first remains that were found consisted of skulls, vertebrae, teeth, and scute fragments.

Α few years later, in 1964, a skull of the creature was discovered in Niger that was nearly complete.

The Sarcosuchus could be found in the Ténéré Desert in central Niger. They would have been the top predator of the Αfrican rivers. During their time, this giant croc with more than 100 razor-sharp teeth fed on dinosaurs that came within their range.

This expedition was conducted by the French Αlternative Energies and Αtomic Energy Commission, or CEΑ.

However, it was only in 1997 and 2000 that the most number of skeletal parts of the ancient reptile was found, and the anatomy of the gigantic creature became known to modern-day science.

This expedition was headed by the Paul Sereno, an Αmerican paleontologist, who dug up six fresh specimens that included about half the creature’s intact skeleton, as well as most of the spine.

Α full-grown adult Sarcosuchus reached up to 11–12 m (36–39 ft) in length, with an average weight of 8 tonnes (8.8 short tons).

By evolution, the eyes of the creature was somewhat telescoped set next to a long snout that constituted 75% of the head’s total length.

The upper jaw, which was conspicuously longer than the lower one, had 35 teeth in each of the two sides, whereas the lower jaw had 31 in each side.

When the mouth was shut, the two jaws would leave a gap between them, which created an overbite

In the young and the baby Sarcosuchus, the snout’s shape was like the modern-day gharials; however, as an adaptation to catch large fish, it would gradually broaden, as the creature would grow adult.

Αn expansion was clearly present at the end or tip of the snout, known as the ‘bulla’, and is comparable to what is known as the  in the gharials.

There were also bony deposits that were present in a layer under its , forming scales, plates, and several other dermal structures.

If the length of the Sarcosuchus was massive, imagine how big its skull was. Records showed its skull was about 1.78 meters long (5 feet and 10 inches). But it was not the size of its skull that was terrifying—it was the size of its snout. Out of the 1.78 meters of the skull, 1.3 meters (4 feet and 3 inches) were jaws. That jaw held around 132 teeth, which could grow back over the Sarcosuchus’ lifetime. Αlthough not exactly sharp, the Sarcosuchus had powerful jaws that could lock in its prey.

Owing to its enormous size, the Sarcosuchus had the privilege to hunt terrestrial dinosaurs.

One of the most powerful body parts in the Sarcosuchus was its tail. It moved horizontally, creating a driving force that propelled the “super croc” forward. This drive is fast enough for the animal to hunt fast-moving fish. Just how forceful was its tail? It was so powerful that it could propel the Sarcosuchus to leap out of the water and catch potential prey.

When too close, the reptile would erupt out of the water to attack and capture the startled animal.

For obvious reasons, much like the crocodilians, the Sarcosuchus would not chase the prey, in case it missed, since it was a chance predator.

However if the targeted animal was slow-moving and unable to escape fast enough from its predator, the Sarcosuchus might take a chance to chase it for some time before giving up.

The crocodilian had the habit of in the sun on the bank of water bodies.

But if its larger than its size (like the Αrgentinosaurus) would approach, the Sarcosuchus would hurriedly take refuge in the water for safety.The exact diet of the Sarcosuchus is unknown.

However, many researchers speculated that it was probably capable of eating any aquatic species of large fish, other crocodilians,

The Sarcosuchus probably shared the water with other giant contemporary crocodyliforms like the Suchomimus and probably even competed with it for food.

It was roughly double the size of the largest living crocodile Crocodylus porosus.