Ancient crocodile: The machine of destruction is more scary than dinosaurs

In our impressions of wildlife documentaries or horror movies, crocodiles are always a cold-blooded cruel animal, they are willing to kill any creature only to satisfy your hunger or your bloodthirsty pleasures.

But compared to their ancestors, but the crocodile once lived on prehistoric Earth, they are only classified as "foul descendants".

And the terrestrial crocodile that dominated Madagascar during the time of the dinosaurs can really be considered a destruction machine with a huge body and long legs so that they can run to hunt prey at very high speed. .

The large and deep jawbone is accompanied by large sawtooths similar to the tyrant dinosaur's teeth in shape and size suggesting that the animals eat both hard tissue such as bones and tendons.The full name of this 7m long dinosaur hunting crocodile is Razanandrongobe sakalavae (Razana), which means 'giant reptile ancestor from the Sakalava region'.

On July 4, 2017, paleontologists from Italy and France jointly published a new study on paleontology, introducing a giant terrestrial crocodile living during the Jurassic period. Their teeth are similar in size to those of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, which also makes this crocodile one of the notorious "dinosaur killers" of the Jurassic period!

Location of the fossils found.

The earliest fossils found the size of their teeth resembled Tyrannosaurus Rex.

In 2001 and 2003, paleontologists found several fragments of the jawbone of this crocodile as well as their intact fossil teeth in the Mahajanga basin - the area on the northwest coast of Madagascar. .

In 2006, paleontologists from Italy and France named the giant crocodile, Razanandrongobe , also known as Razana based on fossil samples collected earlier, this is also a tributary. archosaurian reptiles eat raw meat during the Middle Jurassic period in Madagascar.

Because fossils were found to be very limited, paleontologists believed they exhibited features similar to those of predatory dinosaurs through their large, sharp teeth - this was proves they are an extremely fierce predator and no less than the tyrant dinosaur T-Rex.

'Like other crocodile giants of the Cretaceous period, Razana can defeat even beastly dinosaurs, topping the food chain , ' said Cristiano Dal Sasso, a researcher at the Milan Natural History Museum. know.

In the early summer of 2012, also in the Mahajanga basin, many fossils belonging to this giant prehistoric crocodile were also found. Fossils consist of almost the entire front anterior jaw, and the left canine. In addition to unearthed fossils, archaeologists have also found numerous fossilized bone fragments from other parts of the species.

After research, paleontologists in Italy and France published an article titled " Razanandrongobe sakalavae , living in the Jurassic Jurassic in Madagascar" - This is considered to be the oldest crocodile species. known in southern crocodiles.

Diagram of classification of prehistoric crocodiles.

Based on the fossils discovered, it is estimated that the body length of the Razanandrongobe sakalavae is from 7 to 10 meters, and its weight exceeds 1 ton, which makes them representative. has the highest dating and largest size in the group of Notosuchia.

The combination of anatomical features helped the team identify fossils belonging to the extinct crocodile group living in the Jurassic group of Notosuchia, closely related to baurusuchid and sebecid in South America.

They are predatory predators living on the ground, possessing deep skulls and strong limbs that can stand upright, unlike today's crocodiles.

Compared to modern crocodiles, this prehistoric alligator possesses a large, high head with nostrils facing forward rather than going to the top like a modern crocodile. They have large mouths with up to 15cm long teeth and also possessing jagged tooth structure.

And the shape and structure of such teeth are completely similar to the teeth structure of Tyrannosaurus Rex, so paleontologists think that they have a strong bite force, can bite through meat and bones, making every bite of this species can become a fatal bite.

This ancient crocodile also possesses a body as large as the trucks.

Razanandrongobe sakalavae has long limbs and is perpendicular to the ground.

In addition, this ancient crocodile also possesses a body as large as today's trucks, followed by a slender tail but very strong and the body is covered by a layer of "armor" "very hard. Razanandrongobe sakalavae possesses long and perpendicular branches to the ground instead of forming an L-shape on the sides like crocodiles today, which shows that they are capable of running very fast at close range.

The crocodile Razanandrongobe sakalavae lived in Madagascar from the middle Jurassic period, from 167 to 164 million years ago. Animals that live with them include dinosaurs like Lapparentosaurus and Archaeodontosaurus. From the fossils found to date, the crocodile Razanandrongobe sakalavae has always been considered the largest and most ferocious predator in the crocodile family.