It had a narrow snout, bony plates on its back, and spent a lot of time underwater. This is the description of sarcosuchus imperator, reptile considered the largest crocodilian in history. As he did not belong to the order crocodylia, which today’s crocodiles and alligators are part of, cannot be called a «crocodile», although it looks very similar. The big difference from Sarcosuchus it was its snout, which resembled that of the gharial. This gigantic animal lived at the beginning of the Cretaceous, when the Sahara Desert, where its fossils were found, was still a swampy region. A study from the 1970s, however, attributes fossils found in Bahia to the genus Sarcosuchuscorroborating the hypothesis that, before separating, Africa and South America may have had a common fauna.
(Márcio L. Castro/)
(Márcio L. Castro/)
SNOUT
It is likely that the Sarcosuchus feed mainly on fish. This is corroborated by the similarly shaped snout of the gharial, a living crocodile that is mostly piscivorous. However, like the Sarcosuchus kept growing its entire life, the snout increased in size with age, making it likely that it also preyed on larger animals such as dinosaurs. The bite had a force of 8 tons. This means that forcing its mouth open would be as difficult as lifting a whale.
(Márcio L. Castro/)
PACKAGE INSERT
Fossils found had a depression in the snout, suggesting that the soft tissues in this part formed a kind of chamber. The function of this chamber, called bulla, is still unknown. It is speculated that it could serve to enhance the sense of smell or to amplify the animal’s grunts when it communicated.
(Márcio L. Castro/)
OSTEODERMS
The animal’s back was covered with osteoderms, which are scale-like bony deposits. They served mainly for protection against dinosaur bites and attacks. There were 70 in total, divided into two rows of 35
– (Márcio L. Castro/)
HABITAT
Unlike its closest relatives, which lived in maritime environments, the Sarcosuchus I preferred rivers. He spent a good part of his time submerged, with only his eyes watching, and ambushed animals that came to the shore to drink.
– (Márcio L. Castro/)
CONSULTANCY Dr. Gabriela Sobral, paleontologist at the Federal University of Santa Catarina
SOURCES Book Biology and Evolution of Crocodylians, by Gordon Grigg and David Kirshner; articles The Giant Crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa (various authors) and The Giant Crocodilian Sarcosuchus in the Early Cretaceous of Brazil and Nigerby E. Buffetaut and P. Taquet