Watch out for this ferocious Fossil Friday!

Although Prestosuchus chiniquensis was a large animal with big claws and a huge head with sharp-toothed jaws, it was not a dinosaur. Instead, it is closely related to crocodylomorphs. This specimen is a reconstructed composite of several Prestosuchus specimens collected in Brazil and dating from the Late Triassic, about 210 million years ago.

Find this skeleton cast in the Museum’s Hall of Vertebrate Origins.