Post by azehri muhamad on Oct 15, 2003 8:48:44 GMT 8
From the blistering sands of the Sahara, paleontologist Paul Sereno has pulled an incredible find: the nearly complete remains of Sarcosuchus imperator, one of the largest crocodilians to ever walk the Earth.
As long as a city bus, and weighing in at about ten tons, “SuperCroc” lives up to its nickname.
The giant creature, which lived 110 million years ago, during the Middle Cretaceous, grew as long as 40 feet (12 meters) and weighed as much as eight metric tons (17,500 pounds).
Its jaws alone were nearly six feet (1.8 meters) long and its more than 100 teeth so powerful that the colossal creature probably consumed small dinosaurs as well as fish, the researchers say.
Paleontologist Paul Sereno, a National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence, and the skull of Sarcosuchus imperator, nicknamed SuperCroc. The behemoth's skull extends nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length and ends in a "toilet bowl" of a snout. It was found in the Ténéré Desert of Niger, part of the Sahara.
The skull of 110 million-year-old Sarcosuchus imperator dwarfs a 20-inch (50-centimeter) adult skull of the living Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius). Newly discovered fossils in the Sahara suggest that it took 50 to 60 years for Sarcosuchus to reach its maximum adult size, estimated to be 37 to 40 feet (11 to 12 meters) in length and up to 8 metric tons (17,500 lbs).
What's left of a monster, the fossilized teeth of an enormous crocodilian jut from a narrow jaw, found just under the Saharan sand. Nicknamed SuperCroc, the animal had a snout and teeth designed for grabbing prey and might have eaten small dinosaurs.
As long as a city bus, and weighing in at about ten tons, “SuperCroc” lives up to its nickname.
The giant creature, which lived 110 million years ago, during the Middle Cretaceous, grew as long as 40 feet (12 meters) and weighed as much as eight metric tons (17,500 pounds).
Its jaws alone were nearly six feet (1.8 meters) long and its more than 100 teeth so powerful that the colossal creature probably consumed small dinosaurs as well as fish, the researchers say.
Paleontologist Paul Sereno, a National Geographic Society Explorer-in-Residence, and the skull of Sarcosuchus imperator, nicknamed SuperCroc. The behemoth's skull extends nearly 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length and ends in a "toilet bowl" of a snout. It was found in the Ténéré Desert of Niger, part of the Sahara.
The skull of 110 million-year-old Sarcosuchus imperator dwarfs a 20-inch (50-centimeter) adult skull of the living Orinoco crocodile (Crocodylus intermedius). Newly discovered fossils in the Sahara suggest that it took 50 to 60 years for Sarcosuchus to reach its maximum adult size, estimated to be 37 to 40 feet (11 to 12 meters) in length and up to 8 metric tons (17,500 lbs).
What's left of a monster, the fossilized teeth of an enormous crocodilian jut from a narrow jaw, found just under the Saharan sand. Nicknamed SuperCroc, the animal had a snout and teeth designed for grabbing prey and might have eaten small dinosaurs.
![dEw@[CrOnIc$] Avatar](http://photos.friendster.com/photos/17/08/11158071/5284310549284l.jpg)
