US EditionMeet Crocodylus lucivenator, a 12- to 15-foot predator that hunted iconic Lucy's species
- On March 12, 2026, University of Iowa researchers named Crocodylus lucivenator in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, describing its overlap with Lucy's species.
- Reexamination of museum material in 2016 led researchers to suspect archival Hadar Formation fossils from Addis Ababa museum collections represented a distinct crocodile species.
- Fossils indicate adults of Crocodylus lucivenator reached 12 to 15 feet and weighed between 600 and 1,300 pounds, with one specimen showing healed jaw wounds from face-biting.
- Brochu says that Crocodylus lucivenator likely preyed on Lucy’s species, indicating an elevated predation risk for early hominins in Hadar's waterways.
- Hadar's mix of habitats meant the species persisted through changes, and Crocodylus lucivenator's distinctive cranial traits, including a snout hump, complicated classification amid Eastern Rift Valley crocodile fauna.
23 Articles
23 Articles
Meet Crocodylus lucivenator, a 12- to 15-foot predator that hunted iconic Lucy's species
More than 3 million years ago, when our ancient ancestors embodied by the iconic Lucy were roaming the African landscape, they would have feared a big, bad crocodile with a prominent lump on its head, patiently lurking in rivers and lakes to attack them. According to a research team led by the University of Iowa, that crocodile is a new species.
A Massive Pliocene Crocodile May Have Hunted Lucy and Other Early Hominins, 3 Million Years Ago
Learn how the newly identified crocodile Crocodylus lucivenator lived alongside Lucy’s species in ancient Ethiopia — and why researchers say it may have been the region’s most dangerous predator.
An odd-nosed crocodile ate our prehistoric ancestors
Humans have contended with crocodiles for a really long time. The recent discovery of an ancient crocodilian species sporting a strange snout indicates the reptiles may have even preyed on our earliest known hominin ancestor. The species detailed in a study published today in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology even likely went after anthropology’s most famous historical hominid—Australopithecus afarensis, better known as Lucy. Today’s cro…
Describe a new species of reptile that lived in the territory that today is Ethiopia between 3.4 and 3 million years ago. It lived with the same species of hominid that belonged to the famous Lucy, discovered in 1974. Read
A previously unknown, enormous prehistoric crocodile has been identified that may have preyed on human ancestors. According to a study describing the species, Crocodylus lucivenator lived in what is now Ethiopia about 3 to 3.4 million years ago. This means that it was present at the same time and in the same region as Australopithecus afarensis, an ancient hominid species that may have preceded the first humans. Australopithecus is a transitiona…
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