Sarcosuchus: Giant Cretaceous Crocodile

Sarcosuchus was a gigantic genus of extinct crocodile that lived during the early Cretaceous Period (110 million years ago) on the Supercontinent of Gondwana. Half of a sarcosuchus skeleton was recently uncovered in the Sahara Desert, making it one of the most well-known species of extinct crocodile. Most other ancient crocodiles are known only from fragments of teeth or skull.

Sarcosuchus was titanic by today's crocodile standards, which is how it got its nickname "SuperCroc." It was twice as long as the largest saltwater crocodile and weighed up to ten times as much (8 to 10 tons). Like modern crocodiles, sarcosuchos had a number of bony plates embedded in the skin of its back up to three feet wide. These osteoderms would have provided ample protection to an already enormous predator. The skull itself was massive at nearly six feet long, meaning that if it was alive today, sarcosuchus could eat a man in one bite. Like most modern crocodilians, the teeth of sarcosuchus were straight and designed for holding struggling prey in order to drown it, instead of tearing at flesh. Crocodiles have one of the strongest bite forces known today, and sarcosuchus would have had an even more powerful bite due to the sheer size of its jaws. It is estimated that it could deliver a crushing force of nearly 18,000 pounds per square inch. This force would have been more than enough to shatter the bones of even the strongest prey.

Due to the warm climate of the Cretaceous, sarcosuchus probably inhabited shallow inland lakes and rivers instead of saltwater environments. Like modern crocodiles, sarcosuchus had eyes that were positioned on the top of its head, allowing it to be almost completely submerged underwater and still see prey on the shore. It is likely that these giants hunted in similar fashion to crocodiles as well, acting as ambush predators. Some scientists believe that any animal (including large dinosaurs) that ventured to close to the water could be grabbed in the powerful jaws of the sarcosuchus, held fast, and dragged underwater until drowned. The giant crocodile would then use its powerful jaws to tear the animal apart and swallow chunks of meat whole. However, this contention has been disputed by some scientists who believe that the snout of the sarcosuchus was too narrow to be effective in grabbing large terrestrial prey. It may have been better suited for catching large fish swimming in the waterways it inhabited.

It is not clear how sarcosuchus became extinct. Perhaps as the climate of the Cretaceous grew hotter and drier, the ecological niche the giant crocodile had fashioned for itself had become to small to support its enormous bulk.