A prehistoric species that looked like a bizarre fusion between a crocodile and an armadillo populated parts of South America during the Late Cretaceous. Here's everything you need to know about Armadillosuchus arrudai.
A prehistoric species that looked like a bizarre fusion between a crocodile and an armadillo populated parts of South America during the Late Cretaceous. Here's everything you need to know about Armadillosuchus arrudai.One of the strangest looking crocodiles didn’t swim — it walked on land in the Late Cretaceous with a heavy set of interlocking armor and replaceable teeth.
As far as crocodylomorphs go, the armadillo crocodile wasn’t the largest. It was medium-sized for the family, potentially growing upwards of 8 feet long from head to the end of the tail according to Borsoni — nearly a foot longer than your average NBA player lying down. The tail was likely more lizard-like, not flattened like the tails of many modern crocodiles.
Their unique teeth also differed from those of other members in the crocodile family. Rather than being super sharp, the teeth ofreplaced its teeth similar to the way that humans lose their baby teeth after several years. However, the creature would have done this throughout its life rather than just getting one set of replacements.
“All reptiles do this, but we don’t know if they all do it exactly this way, with a wave pattern,” Borsoni says.“The sphagesauridae is a peculiar group because they are chewing their food,” Borsoni says.It may have also burrowed sometimes, like crocodiles today — the shape of its shoulders, claws, and powerful neck and skull all suggest this, the authors of the 2009 paper noted.
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