Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Experts: Ancient crocodile ate dinosaurs

|
|
 
  
Published: Nov. 19, 2009 at 3:48 PM
Advertisement

CHICAGO, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Two paleontologists said at least one species of crocodiles that existed nearly 100 million years ago in Africa actually fed on dinosaurs.

University of Chicago paleontologist Paul Sereno and Hans Larsson of Canada's McGill University said a 20-foot-long, saber-toothed crocodile dubbed the BoarCroc actually included dinosaurs in its diet, USA Today reported Thursday.

The findings of Sereno and Larsson appear in the online journal "ZooKeys" and will be featured in a November issue of National Geographic magazine and a National Geographic Channel show titled "When Crocs Ate Dinosaur."

"Africa really was a world of dinosaurs and crocodiles then," Soreno said of the five prehistoric crocodiles he and Larsson studied.

In addition to the BoarCroc, the report details how the so-called RatCroc was a 3-foot-long crocodile that only ate plants and lived in Morocco. The galloping DogCroc also fed on plants.

The paleontologists said the 20-foot-long PancakeCroc that lived in Niger and Morocco ate fish just like the 3-foot-long DuckCroc, USA Today reported.

Topics: Paul Sereno
© 2009 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Oscar nominations 2012 High Fashion in Paris 2011: The year in space
Additional Science News Stories
1 of 19
Tiger Woods plays Spyglass Hill in the AT&T Pro-Am in Pebble Beach, California
View Caption
fark
The military has an ugly new mule-like robot that will be taught to respond to commands like "sit"...
Dear policy holder: Our computers have detected your car moving at an actuarially imprudent speed....
The science behind how it feels to get hit in the nuts
The world lost a great comedian 12 years ago today, know what I mean Vern? Bonus: graduated from...
Conservatives: "The reason poor people are falling behind is because liberals have corrupted their...
Not news: Teenager trash-talks parents on Facebook. News: IT Dad finds said post while upgrading...