The Giant Crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The Giant Crocodyliform Sarcosuchus from the Cretaceous of Africa

Published:2001-11-16 Issue:5546 Volume:294 Page:1516-1519
ISSN:0036-8075
Container-title:Science
language:en
Short-container-title:Science

Author:

Sereno Paul C.¹,Larsson Hans C. E.²,Sidor Christian A.³,Gado Boubé⁴

Affiliation:

1. Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

2. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA.

3. Department of Anatomy, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY 11568, USA.

4. Institut de Recherches en Sciences Humaines, Niamey, Niger Republic.

Abstract

New fossils of the giant African crocodyliform Sarcosuchus imperator clarify its skeletal anatomy, growth patterns, size, longevity, and phylogenetic position. The skull has an expansive narial bulla and elongate jaws studded with stout, smooth crowns that do not interlock. The jaw form suggests a generalized diet of large vertebrates, including fish and dinosaurs. S. imperator is estimated to have grown to a maximum body length of at least 11 to 12 meters and body weight of about 8 metric tons over a life-span of 50 to 60 years. Unlike its closest relatives, which lived as specialized piscivores in marginal marine habitats, S. imperator thrived in fluvial environments.

Publisher

American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

Subject

Multidisciplinary

Reference34 articles.

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