The Earth by Elsa Panciroli

Author:Elsa Panciroli
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Laurence King Publishing

Postosuchus – Origin of Crocodiles

Postosuchus was a distant crocodile relative bigger than a tiger, which prowled our Triassic planet for over twenty million years. It belonged to a plethora of animals that initially outcompeted the dinosaurs, including armoured, tank-like beasts and sprinting hunters. Their lineage would go on to produce the ancestors of modern crocodiles, alligators and gharials, the only survivors from a once-bushy family tree.

Postosuchus was an ancient reptile that prowled the North American continent 222 to 202 million years ago. It grew as long as a car, with an enormous skull full of serrated teeth. The strong hind legs and smaller forelimbs suggest it may have even walked on two legs. Although at first glance this fearsome animal resembles a predatory dinosaur, it was more closely related to modern crocodiles, belonging to a group called the rauisuchidans. They included the largest predators on land in the Triassic, and their fossils can be found throughout the northern hemisphere, South America and South Africa.

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