The modern crocodile’s UNCLE! Fossil analysis shows that the terrifying half-ton, 14-foot long reptile was found in Wyoming about 155million years ago.

  • Fossil is an entirely new species of the crocodile-like goniopgolidid (family) 
  • ‘Amphicotyleus milesi’ has been named by a team led from Hokkaido University
  • It had a terrifying skull measuring 17 feet and thirty razor-sharp teeth.
  • The team said it was an opportunist — feeding on fish, turtles and even dinosaurs
  • It has revealed how crocodiles evolved their unique breathing system for diving










A terrifying 14-feet-long reptile that roamed the Serengeti-like landscape of Wyoming 155 million years ago was the ‘uncle’ of all modern crocodiles.

This is the conclusion of a team of researchers led from Hokkaido University, who have identified a new species belonging to the croc-like ‘goniopholidid’ family.

The fossil of ‘Amphicotyleus milesi’ was unearthed in the East Camarasaurus Quarry — named after the dinosaur finds from the site — in Wyoming’s Albany County.

According to the palaeontologists, in life A. milesi would have weighed in at nearly half-a-ton and sported a mouth packed with 30 two-inch-long razor-sharp teeth.

A terrifying 14-feet-long reptile that roamed the Serengeti-like landscape of Wyoming 155 million years ago was the 'uncle' of all modern crocodiles. Pictured: an artist's impression of Amphicotyleus milesi menacing a larger camarasaurus at a watering hole

A 14-foot-long, terrifying reptile roamed Wyoming’s Serengeti-like landscape 155 millions years ago. It was known as the “uncle” of modern crocodiles. Pictured: an artist’s impression of Amphicotyleus milesi menacing a larger camarasaurus at a watering hole

This is the conclusion of a team of researchers led from Hokkaido University, who have identified a new species belonging to the croc-like 'goniopholidid' family. Pictured: the fossil

The conclusion is that a group of scientists from Hokkaido University have discovered a new species of the croclike ‘goniopholidids’ family. Pictured: the fossil

HOW DO CROCODILES  AND ALLIGATORS DIFFER?

Snout: Alligators have wider, U-shaped snouts, while crocodile are more pointed and V-shaped.

Smile: Crocodiles look like they’re flashing a toothy grin when their snouts are shut.

Alligators teeth are hidden as their upper jaw is wider than their lower. 

Home: Crocodiles live in saltwater habitats, while alligators prowl freshwater marshes and lakes.

According to paper author and palaeontologist Junki Yoshida of Japan’s Hokkaido University, A. milesi was not only the ‘uncle’ of modern crocs — it also revealed the origin of their unique breathing system that they use for diving.

‘Amphicotylus milesi has the backward extension of the nose duct and the short and curved tongue bone similar to modern crocodilians,’ he explained.

‘This suggests that, by keeping their external nostrils above the water surface, the crocodilian ancestors could raise the valve at the tongue.

‘They could breathe underwater while holding prey in the mouth, as modern crocodilians do today.

‘Amphicotylus provides a novel insight into the aquatic adaptation toward modern crocodylians,’ the expert concluded. 

Modern crocodiles are capable of holding their breath for up to an hour underwater. 

Today there are just 25 species of crocodile still alive, but this number would have been in the hundreds during the time of the dinosaurs, with some reaching up to 30 feet in length and weighing in at three tons — six times that of A. milesi.

According to the palaeontologists, in life A. milesi would have weighed in at nearly half-a-ton and sported a mouth packed with 30 two-inch-long razor-sharp teeth. Pictured: photographic and illustrated representations of A. milesi's skull from various perspectives

 According to the Palaeontologists A.milei was nearly half-a-ton, and had 30 2 inch-long sharp teeth. Pictured: photographic and illustrated representations of A. milesi’s skull from various perspectives

At the time A. milesi lived, during the Late Jurassic, what are today the badlands of Wyoming would have been more like the Serengeti of Africa. 

Creatures living in this setting would have had to adapt to long periods of severe drought — followed by months of monsoon that would have flooded local rivers. 

The researchers believe that A. milesi would have been an opportunistic predator — eating everything from small fish frogs, lizards and turtles up to perhaps even herbivorous dinosaurs and pterosaurs.

Royal Society Open Science has published all of the findings.

TIMELINE OF THE CROCODILE EVOLUTION

250,000,000 BC – Xilousuchus

3 feet in length 5-10lbs. LIVED in swamps and forests of east Asia. Consumed small animals. A ridge of fan-like “sails” on their backs. Separated into early dinosaurs and prehistoric crocodiles. 

228,000,000 BC – Phytosaur

Alive in the Jurassic period. The majority of them are related to Crocodilians. Herbivores. Looked much like modern day crocodiles – except their nostrils were located on the top of their head rather than the tops of their snout.

200,000,000 BC – Erpetosuchus

Bipedal. Except for the head, they didn’t look like modern crocodiles. 

110,000,000 BC – Sarcosuchus 

Middle Cretaceous period. 40ft long. 10-15 tons. Consumed fish and dinosaurs. Living in rivers throughout Africa. It had a strange protrusion at the top of its snout. It looked and behaved exactly like its modern predecessors but was about 10 times heavier and twice as long. 

100,000 BC – Stomatosuchus 

36 ft. long. ten tons. With its pelican-like jaw, it can consume plankton or krill. 

80,000,000 BC – Beinosuchus

Greek for awful crocodile. Born in North America’s rivers. They were approximately 33 feet long and 10 tonnes. The skull measured 6ft. long skull. They ate shellfish, fish and other land animals. The fossil evidence suggests they may have attacked large North American Tyrannosaurs.

70,000,000 BC – Champsosaurus  

5 ft in length, 25-50 lbs, they ate fish and lived along the rivers of North America, Europe and West Europe. A long, narrow profile with a tooth-strewn snout. Survived the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event that killed off three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth – including the dinosaurs.

65,000,000 BC – Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Event

Non-avian dinosaurs were extincted and nearly half of the species in the world were decimated. The mass extinction opened the door to mammals’ rise and humankind. 

55,000,000 BC – Crocodylidae (Modern day crocodile)

The modern day crocodile – including the saltwater, Nile, and American variants – spread throughout the world. Although it appears prehistoric, this predator is highly developed and complex.

23,000,00 BC – Quinkana

Nine feet long, 500 pounds. Red meat was eaten in the woods. Modern crocs have shorter legs but they have long, curved teeth. The environment changes continue to shrink these crocodiles.

4,200,000 BC – Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni

It is very similar to the modern-day crocodile. A large skull with a small, raised rim just in front of its eyes. Likely that they prayed upon early people. Living in Kenya’s Turkana Basin. The largest true crocodile ever recorded.

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