US EditionResearchers Describe Kostensuchus Atrox, a Hypercarnivorous Crocodile Relative From Patagonia
Kostensuchus atrox, a 3.5-meter hypercarnivore with powerful jaws and serrated teeth, was an agile land predator competing with dinosaurs 70 million years ago.
- Researchers described the discovery of Kostensuchus atrox, a crocodile-relative fossil found in March 2020 in Argentina's Chorrillo Formation, dating to 70 million years ago.
- The fossil's well-preserved skull and partial skeleton were uncovered after months of meticulous excavation in a remote Patagonian site, amid field suspensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Kostensuchus atrox was a hypercarnivore apex predator with a broad, robust skull, over 50 serrated teeth comparable to a T. rex's, and potentially longer, more upright limbs enabling terrestrial hunting.
- Researchers believe Kostensuchus reached a length of approximately 3.5 meters and weighed near 250 kilograms . Its formidable jaw and large serrated teeth suggest it was a dominant predator that likely hunted small to medium-sized dinosaurs during the late Cretaceous period.
- The discovery expands knowledge of diverse crocodyliforms thriving at high paleolatitudes and suggests Kostensuchus contributed significantly to terrestrial predator niches before the 66-million-year-ago extinction event.
43 Articles
43 Articles
A superpredator roamed the Patagonian forests a few million years before the end of the dinosaur era. As big as a Siberian tiger, he moved on four legs, with powerful jaws and teeth shaped like meat knives. But this hunter was not a dinosaur. In an article published on Wednesday in PLOS One magazine, researchers announced the discovery of Kostensuchus, a great terrestrial crocodile. The finding shows that predatory dinosaurs in South America fac…
Science Daily
ecotopical.com70-million-year-old crocodile relative with dinosaur-crushing jaws found in Argentina
Seventy million years ago, southern Patagonia was home to dinosaurs, turtles, and mammals—but also to a fierce crocodile-like predator. A newly discovered fossil, astonishingly well-preserved, reveals Kostensuchus atrox, a powerful 3.5-meter-long apex predator with crushing jaws and sharp teeth capable of devouring medium-sized dinosaurs. As one of the largest hunters of its time and the first of its kind found in the Chorrillo Formation, this fi
The animal had teeth so strong and large that researchers believe it could have eaten a medium-sized dinosaur for breakfast.
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