Jaws Of The Past

Modern feisty crocodiles portrayed in the movies can now be ashamed; compared to their five ancient cousins recently discovered by fossil hunters.

"Each of the crocs apparently had different diets, different behaviors. It appears they had divided up the ecosystem, each species taking advantage of it in its own way", said Palaeontologist Dr Hans Larsson.

The remains were found in Sahara; once again by famous fossil hunter Dr. Paul Sereno. Eight years ago he uncovered the SuperCroc - a monster that lived in the dinosaurs era, weighing 8 tones.

"We were surprised to find so many species from the same time in the same place", said Dr Larsson.

The fossil remains are 100 million years old; and these five ancient reptiles were as agile on land as they were in the water.

All five members of the crocodile family got special names; the Boar Croc was the merciless one; it was 20 feet long with fangs for chopping off meat; the Pancake Croc, as the name suggests, was similarly long with flat head. One of its quirks was resting motionless, keeping its mouth open and waiting for prey. The Rat Croc wasn't that ferocious; it was a plant eater while the Duck Croc expanded its menu to eating fish. The Dog Croc had a dog like nose and ate plants. Scientists presume that it was a good and fast runner, as well as swimmer.

The found creatures appear in a documentary When Crocs Ate Dinosaurs on the National Geographic channel, as well as in National Geographic magazine.