Deinosuchus

Name: Deinosuchus‭ (‬Terrible crocodile‭)‬.

Phonetic: Dy-no-su-kus.

Named By: William Jacob Holland ‬- 1909.

Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Sauropsida,‭ ‬Crocodilia,‭ ‬Eusuchia,‭ ‬Alligatoroidea.

Species: D.‭ ‬rugosus‭ (‬type‭)‬.

Type: Carnivore.

Size: ‭ ‬Estimated at around‭ ‬10‭ ‬meters long.‭ ‬Some estimates push this to‭ ‬12‭ ‬meters long,‭ ‬but lack of complete fossil material leaves the exact size unknown.

Known locations: USA.‭ ‬Mexico.‭

Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation: Teeth,‭ ‬osteoderms and fragmentary skull material.

Although the first specimens were discovered in‭ ‬1858,‭ ‬it was not until‭ ‬1909‭ ‬that they were correctly identified.‭ ‬Fossils of Deinosuchus have always been fragmentary and because of this,‭ ‬accurate reconstruction has been problematic.‭ ‬This has caused further difficulties down the line as crocodile sizes are usually estimated with comparison to the proportion of the skull to the body.

Most estimates place Deinosuchus between ten and twelve meters,‭ ‬with twelve meters being the upper limit.‭ ‬Although this means that Deinosuchus was probably not as‭ ‬big Sarcosuchus or Purussaurus,‭ ‬that would probably be little consolation to the dinosaurs of Campanian North America.‭

On top of the unknown size,‭ ‬Deinosuchus remains from the western US are larger than the Deinosuchus remains found in the east.‭ ‬Eastern specimens also outnumber the western specimens.‭ ‬Although smaller than the western specimens,‭ ‬the eastern Deinosuchus would have likely been the apex predators of their locale on the grounds that the larger theorpods were mainly found in the west.

The snout of Deinosuchus resembles a modern day alligator with robust teeth that could crunch bone.‭ ‬These teeth combined with a powerful bites force measured in tons point towards a specialisation in hunting large and possibly armoured animals.‭ ‬There were many other large reptiles of the time but immediate thought is usually given to the dinosaurs.‭ ‬If Deinosuchus hunted dinosaurs,‭ ‬it probably approached them from the water as they came down to drink and lunged out at them when close enough for a strike.‭ ‬Having the dinosaur trapped between its jaws,‭ ‬and weighing many tons itself‭, ‬Deinosuchus would then drag the dinosaur into the water and drown it before eating.‭

Deinosuchus in all likelihood did not rely exclusively upon dinosaurs for sustenance and the shells of large turtles have been found bearing teeth marks similar to those found in Deinosuchus.‭ ‬Further,‭ ‬coprolites thought to have belonged to Deinosuchus have been found to contain fragments of large turtle shells. This suggests that Deinosuchus exhibited hunting behaviour that saw a preference towards tougher and armoured prey that could not be tackled by lesser predators. This does not however suggest that Deinosuchus only ate turtles, just that they were readily available to form part of this crocodiles diet.

Potential proof of how dangerous Deinosuchus was comes from the fossils of an Albertosaurus and Appalachiosaurus.‭ ‬These specimens bear tooth marks that match the type of teeth that Deinosuchus had,‭ ‬and in one the teeth marks show signs of healing.‭ ‬This indicates that Deinosuchus took on a living tyrannosaurs, creatures that are thought to have been the apex predators of late Cretaceous North America.

Study of osteoderms suggest that Deinosuchus could have lived to be fifty years old and would have been constantly growing for at least the first thirty-five years of that time.‭ ‬By contrast study of large North American theropods such as Albertosaurus indicates that they grew fast but probably did not live beyond thirty years of age.

Name Time/Location Size (meters) Deinosuchus‭ (‬alligator-like crocodile‭). Cretaceous/USA. 10-12 Gryposuchus‭ (‬gharial-like crocodile‭). Miocene/S.‭ ‬America. 10 Mourasuchus‭ (‬alligator-like crocodile‭). Miocene/Peru. 12 Purussaurus‭ (‬caiman-like crocodile‭). Miocene/S.‭ ‬America. 11-13 Rhamphosuchus‭ (‬gharial-like crocodile‭). Miocene/India‭. 8-11 Sarcosuchus‭ (‬crocodile‭). Cretaceous/Africa. 11-12 Smilosuchus‭ (‬phytosaur *not a croc‭). Triassic/USA. 12 Stomatosuchus‭ (‬crocodile‭). Cretaceous/Egypt. 10 3 of todays largest living crocs below Alligator mississippiensis‭ (‬American alligator‭). Present/S. E. USA. 3.4‭ ‬average‭ ‬- up to almost‭ ‬6. Crocodylus niloticus‭ (‬Nile crocodile‭). Present/Africa. Average up to‭ ‬5,‭ ‬largest up to 6.45. Crocodylus porosus‭ (‬Salt water crocodile‭). Present/India, S. E. Asia, N. Australia. Average 4-5.5, largest recorded 6-6.6, possibly slightly bigger.

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