The Cretaceous epoch was a really terrific blank space , with galloping crocodile capable of give the better - known dinosaur a run for their money . A documentaryon the gargantuan crocodiles of the geological era will screen on December 20th .
In 2009,National Geographic expeditionsto Morocco and Niger reveal three newfangled specie of 100 - million - year - old crocodiles , officially described inZookeys .
The first specimen unearthed ofKaprosuchus saharicuswould have been 6.5 - m - foresighted ( 21 feet ) . immix with three sets of sharp ivory and a snout that could probably have been used as a kind of battering ram , this must have been the stuff of nightmares for the beasts of the clip . While it is call back thatK. saharicusfed in the main on dinosaurs , our hereditary mammals probably had mess of reason to be afraid .
Mike Hettwer / National Geographic . Kaprosuchus saharicusmodel and original skull .
Laganosuchus thaumastosgrew to a similar size of it , but its monotonous head appears to have been more suited to ambush onset on passing Pisces .
Mike Hettwer / National Geographic . NIcknamed PancakeCroc , Laganosuchus thaumastosprobably had a dieting of mostly fish .
Both species were closely have-to doe with to crocodiles , and lived a similar semi - aquatic life style , but had legs beneath their bodies , rather than sprawling sidelong as modernistic crocodillians do . " My African crocs seem to have had both upright , quick leg for bounding overland and a versatile tail for paddling in water , " Sereno write in National Geographic Magazineat the meter of the discovery . " These mintage open a windowpane on a croc world totally alien to what was living on northerly continents . "
Todd Marshall / National Geographic . This cretaceous crocodile nicknamed DogCroc was probably a fast and spry runner .
The third species identified for the first time on the same sashay , Araripesuchus rattoides , was only a m long and believably live on roots and insects .
None of the three comparability to Sereno ’s skillful known find , the 12 - cadence - retentive ( 39 feet)Sarchosuchus imperator , dub “ SuperCroc,”that roamed ( and excite ) the Earth 112 million old age ago .
Mike Hettwer / National Geographic . Paul Sereno with models of six of the crocodile species he helped divulge and discover .
" We were surprised to find so many coinage from the same meter in the same place , " University of Montreal fossilist Hans Larsson toldThe Guardianwhen the discovery were foretell . " Each of the crocs manifestly had dissimilar diet , different demeanour . It appears they had divide up the ecosystem , each mintage taking advantage of it in its own way . "
National Geographic has animated Sereno ’s discoveries and interview him extensively for the soon - to - be released docudrama .
