Detecting ancient crocodiles 11 meters long

Scientists have discovered a new ancient crocodile with a strange skull shaped like a shield, living on rivers of the Cretaceous.

Recently, a fairly special part of the skull was excavated in Morocco. After conducting tests and analysis, paleontologists determined that it belonged to a new species of creature and had a very large body . 'The size of the animal's head is 2 meters,' said Professor Casey Holliday, an anatomy from the University of Missouri.

Ancient crocodile species with a skull-shaped skull.

Even more interesting, Holliday said, this crocodile shieldcroc has a shield-like structure on the top of the skull that supports the skin and blood vessels that resemble those of dinosaurs like horns. Three-horned dinosaurs.

Conducting analysis of the skull, the team found that the crocodile belongs to the 'eusuchian' group - a genetic line from two African crocodiles and American alligators.

Shieldcroc lived about 100 million years ago in the late Cretaceous period, the first eusuchian species found in Africa.

'For a long time, people have been arguing about the modern crocodile region that really flourishes, many of which are European / Mediterranean regions,' Holliday said. Therefore, the new findings contribute to providing more information around this issue.

Shieldcroc's adult body is about 9-11 meters long. They share the habitat with lung fish and another species of ancient finfish and are considered to be predators.