Solved: Mystery of crocodile that feasted on dinosaurs
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.SCIENTISTS HAVE solved the mystery of a giant prehistoric crocodile which was so big that it could make a meal of a dinosaur.
Deinosuchus was five times the size of the biggest crocodiles alive today and researchers have now discovered why - it lived far longer than its present-day cousins.
Unlike the dinosaurs, which became giants by putting on weight quickly, Deinosuchus grew slowly and became gigantic simply by continuing to get bigger while living to a relatively great age.
"How Deinosuchus attained sizes to rival its dinosaurian contemporaries, on which it undoubtedly preyed, has remained a mystery," say Gregory Erickson and Christopher Brochu, of Stanford University in California and the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, in the journal Nature.
The scientists studied the growth rings of Deinosuchus bones and found that the reptiles must have lived for at least 50 years, about 20 years more than living crocodiles, and considerably longer than the dinosaurs alive at the time. This suggests that the ancient crocodile grew slowly and steadily, like the modern-day cold-blooded reptiles cousins, rather than in spurts which is the pattern seen in today's warm-blooded animals.
Fossil specimens of Deinosuchus excavated in Montana and Texas indicate that it grew up to 32 feet long and had huge jaws which were capable of gripping animals as big as a rhinoceros.
"We're almost certain they fed occasionally on dinosaurs but there is also evidence that they ate large turtles because of puncture holes found in [turtle] shells which match the teeth of Deinosuchus," Dr Erickson said.
Dinosaurs' bones show that they went through a rapid period of growth in early life while Deinosuchus grew at a modest 0.3 metres a year and over several decades rather than the five or ten years of modern crocodiles.
Dr Erickson said that Deinosuchus would have been among the longest- lived animals of prehistoric times. "Each Deinosuchus must have seen several generations of dinosaurs come and go," he said.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments