Life Sciences Pangea terrorized by giant, upright-walking crocodile!

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Before the big dinosaurs, there was the 9-foot long Carolina Butcher, or Carnufex carolinensis:
"The discovery of Carnufex, one of the world's earliest and largest crocodylomorphs, adds new information to the push and pull of top terrestrial predators across Pangea," said Dr Lindsay Zanno, assistant research professor at North Carolina State University.

“Fossils from this time period are extremely important to scientists because they record the earliest appearance of crocodylomorphs and theropod dinosaurs, two groups that first evolved in the Triassic period, yet managed to survive to the present day in the form of crocodiles and birds."
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More: Giant walking crocodile terrorised Earth before dinosaurs - Telegraph (19 Mar 2015)

Also, note that birds are secretly dinosaurs! We're all going to die!
 
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I thought it was interesting to learn that there were giant lizards before giant dinosaurs.

Also, I have a vague memory of reading some old comic (or similar non-authoritative material) that refered to "giant lizards" that ruled the Earth in the early days, aeons ago. I think they really had dinosaurs in mind, but "giant lizards" was what they were commonly known as at the time, even if that is taxonomically incorrect, or at least now it is.
 
Interesting!

The difference between dinosaurs and reptiles, I was told (in a dinosaur exhibition close to my home in Germany) is mainly the shape of the bones at the pelvis. While dinosaurs have their hip directly above the legs, most (I love the "most" here, as in every "general rule") reptiles legs project outwards.

What Are the Physical Differences Between Dinosaurs & Reptiles? | eHow

This "upright walking crocodile" in the picture looks difficult to categorize in that respect, but my guess is that if you look at the skeleton then it will be obvious (to scientists) that it was a reptile (and not a dinosaur).

Best regards,
Andy
 
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