Kostensuchus atrox lived about 70 million years ago in Patagonia near Antarctica. The species measured approximately 11.5 feet long and weighed about 550 pounds. Dental morphology and jaw musculature indicate hypercarnivory, with teeth described as comparable to a T. rex and a bite capable of breaking prey in two. Limb proportions suggest longer legs and a more land-oriented lifestyle than modern crocodiles, implying active terrestrial hunting. Fossil remains include a skull and jaw found embedded in a beige rock concretion. The species likely functioned as an apex predator and may have gone extinct around the time dinosaurs disappeared.
Experts say this croc was a hypercarnivore, which means it almost exclusively ate meat. It's estimated to have measured 11.5 feet long and weighed about 550 pounds. According to Pol, it had "teeth that are comparable to a T. rex" with massive jaw muscles that could "break you in two pieces with a single bite." With its longer legs, scientists think this species may have been more land-oriented than the crocodiles of today, and potentially died around the Ice Age with the dinosaurs.
A newly unearthed fossil has led experts to believe an ancient species of crocodile may have been an apex predator that hunted dinosaurs on land. Paleontologist and National Geographic Explorer Diego Pol and his team helped to uncover the remains of Kostensuchus atrox, a previously unknown species of crocodile in Patagonia, close to Antarctica, that lived around 70 million years ago. Paleontologist Marcelo Isasi found the skull and jaw of Kostensuchus atrox embedded in a beige rock concretion.
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