‘Hypercarnivore’ crocodile relative that ripped apart dinosaurs discoveredVishwam Sankaran
The IndependentThu, August 28, 2025 at 12:46 AM EDT
2 min read
Artist reconstruction of Kostensuchus atrox (Gabriel Diaz Yanten)
Scientists have discovered a “hypercarnivore” crocodile-relative species in Argentina that terrorised dinosaurs in the region with its powerful jaw and big teeth.
The new species has been named Kostensuchus atrox, after the Patagonian wind known in the Tehuelche native language as the Kosten, and the Egyptian crocodile-headed god known as Souchos, with atrox meaning “fierce” or “harsh”.
It was discovered based on a well-preserved fossil in Argentina’s Chorrillo Formation, which is rich in deposits from around 70 million years ago at the very end of the Cretaceous period.
“Here, we expand the diversity of fossil vertebrates from the Chorrillo Formation with the description of the peirosaurid crocodyliform Kostensuchus atrox,” scientists wrote in a new study published in the journal PLoS One.
This was a time when the southern Patagonia region was a warm, seasonally humid landscape of freshwater floodplains, home to creatures like dinosaurs, turtles, frogs, and various mammals, according to the new study.
The crocodile relative’s fossil was found largely intact, including a skull and jaws with visible details, as well as multiple bones from the body.
Fossil bones indicate the apex predator likely reached around 3.5 meters (11.5 ft) long based on comparison of recovered bones with the complete skeletons of caimans and alligators.
The species likely reached weights of around 250 kg (551 pounds), with a wide, powerful jaw and big teeth capable of devouring even medium-sized dinosaurs, researchers say.
K. atrox, scientists say, is the second-largest predator known from this fossil site, and was likely one of the top predators in the region.
The species itself was not a dinosaur, but an extinct group of reptiles related to modern crocodiles and alligators called a peirosaurid crocodyliform.
“The completeness of the new specimen reveals, for the first time, the anatomy and body plan of a large and broad snouted peirosaurid,” scientists wrote.
Its large body size, snout shape, sharp teeth, as well as several adaptations are indicative of a predatory lifestyle.
“Broad-snouted peirosaurids were likely top predators, as evidenced by several adaptations indicative of a predatory lifestyle and its large body size,” researchers wrote.
Scientists suspect the crocodile relative’s teeth had shearing edges that enabled it to puncture and slice through the flesh of “sizeable prey”.
“These features, as well as a reduced tooth count that Kostensuchus lacks, have been interpreted as adaptations towards hypercarnivory,” researchers wrote.
“The new crocodyliform adds to the predatorial component of terrestrial ecosystems at high paleolatitudes by the end of the Cretaceous Period,” they wrote.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hypercarnivore-crocodile-relative-ripped-apart-044647154.html
