Prussian Crocodile: A South American giant crocodile that bites more than a Tyrannosaurus rex
Crocodiles can always be equated with viciousness and coldness in our impression, and thriller horror movies such as "Killing Crocodile Pond" and "Prehistoric Crocodile" have deepened this impression. Compared to the crocodiles that lived on prehistoric Earth, most of the crocodiles on Earth today are little guys. In order to introduce the famous crocodiles of prehistory more comprehensively and systematically, the little robber dragon has sorted together the collection of relevant popular science articles previously released to form the "prehistoric giant crocodile" series, hoping to satisfy everyone's curiosity.
The third in the "Prehistoric Crocodile" series is the Prussian crocodile.
This article is the special content of NetEase News and NetEase "each has its own attitude"
Discover that a hundred years will eventually become a god
Although the Prussian crocodile has only entered the public eye in recent years, it has been discovered and named more than 100 years ago. As early as the end of the 19th century, the Brazilian botanist Barbosa-rodrigues discovered the fossil of a giant crocodile in the Amazon rainforest, which he named in 1892 purussaurus, the model species of the Brazilian peruss crocodile (p. brasiliensis）。 The Prussian crocodile belongs to the caimaninae subfamily caimaninae of the alligator family and is the prehistoric cousin of the modern caiman family.
Photo note: Rodriguez, the name of the Peruss crocodile, image from the internet
Fifty years later, in 1941, a new fossil skull of a giant crocodile was found in Colombia, South America, with fossil number ump39704, which is 801 mm long and 535 mm wide. Giant crocodiles were originally classified in the genus Crocodile, with the species name D. Neval neivensis）。 After comparison, paleontologists pointed out that the fossils found in Colombia actually belonged to the Prussian crocodile, so they renamed it the Neverphore crocodile (p. neivensis）。
Photo note: Fossil skull of the Prussian crocodile, picture from the Internet
In 2005, paleontologists discovered a new fossil belonging to the Prus crocodile in The Yulamaco Formation in Venezuela, whose skull is 1450 mm long. In 2006, the third species of the genus Peruss was named: the Miranda Perussian crocodile (p. mirandai）。 So far, there are three species in the genus Prussian crocodile, all found in and around the Amazon basin in South America.
With the deepening of the study of the Prussian crocodile, people have finally unveiled its mystery, which is a super giant crocodile with a body size of more than 10 meters. In this way, after a hundred years of silence, the Prussian crocodile finally became a big star in the paleontological world.
Join the Giant Crocodile Club
Image note: Comparison of the size of the Prussian crocodile with that of humans, picture from the Internet
If you want to join the Giant Crocodile Club, the first condition you must have is to be big! Early studies of the Prus crocodile estimated its body length to reach 14 m, which later dropped to 12.5 m and weighed up to 8.4 tonnes. Another smaller estimate suggests that the Alluvius crocodile has a body length of 10.3 meters and a weight of 5.16 tons. At present, paleontologists believe that the body length of the Prus crocodile of 10.3 meters is more reasonable, and compared with other prehistoric giant crocodiles, the body length of the Prussian crocodile is shorter than that of the emperor crocodile (11.65 meters), which is comparable to the crocodile.
Image note: The Body Size of the Prussian Crocodile compared to African elephants and humans, image from the Internet
Illustration: A restored model of the Prussian crocodile, picture from the network
The Prussian crocodile is huge, its head is nearly 1.5 meters long and more than 1 meter wide, and its skull has a smaller length-to-width ratio than that of the crocodile and the emperor crocodile. The Prus crocodile's skull and mandible are very thick, its mouth has thick and long sharp teeth, and its large mouth, when opened, is like a gate to hell, devouring all life that dares to approach. Like today's crocodiles, the eyes and nostrils of the Prussian crocodile grow on the top of the head to facilitate observation and breathing in the water. The body of the Prussian crocodile is enlarged, reaching the widest part of 2 meters, and behind it is a large, thick and long tail. On the back and tail of the Prussian crocodile grew hard bone pieces, which protected its back like armor.
Gateway to Hell
Image note: The giant beak of the Prussian crocodile, picture from the internet
The Prussian crocodile is a top predator, its large mouth is like a gate to hell, and its huge jaws are covered with thick, sharp teeth. What makes the Prussian crocodile the ultimate killer is not only the teeth in its mouth, but also its huge bite force. In 2015, paleontologists published an article in the journal "Morphometry, bite-force, and paleobiology of the late miocene caiman purussaurus brasiliensis" in the journal "Comprehensive Volumes of public science libraries." In the article, the researchers referred to the morphology and osteology of the Perussian crocodile and today's crocodiles, used computer modeling to reconstruct the skull and muscles of the Prus crocodile, and calculated that its bite force was as high as 69,000 Newtons, equivalent to 7 tons of strength.
Picture note: Prussian crocodile, picture from the network
The mouth of the Prussian crocodile can easily bite the hard shell of the turtle, the image comes from the Internet
7 tons! This bite has surpassed all living things on Earth today, and even in the history of life on Earth, it is one of the few. Once the study was announced, major media outlets reported under the headline "Ancient South American crocodile bites better than Tyrannosaurus rex", which also makes the Prus crocodile a new paleontological star. Imagine how terrifying it would be to have a mouth that is more than 1 meter wide and has a bite force of 7 tons.
The end of the age of the giant crocodile
The Prus crocodile lived in the late Miocene, about 8 million years ago, and fossils have been found in today's Brazil, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela, suggesting a wide range of its existence. Judging from the rock formations in which the Prus crocodile was found, it was able to live in different environments, including coastal areas, rivers, lakes and even floodplains. The diverse environment provides a variety of food for the Alluvian crocodile, which includes large fish, turtles, other crocodiles, birds, dolphins and other mammals (Sacramentans, Blunt-footed, Rodents). A Peruss crocodile with a body length of more than 10 meters must eat 20 kilograms of meat a day to survive, so they are never picky eaters, almost seeing what to eat.
Photo note: Prussian crocodile attacking mammals, image from the internet
Picture note: Prussian crocodile eating fish, picture from the Internet
The Prussian crocodile was the absolute ruler of its ecology, and nothing was more terrifying than it, but it was such an unrivaled giant crocodile that became extinct at the end of the Miocene. What ultimately kills all the Prussian crocodiles is not other animals but a changing climate. In the late Miocene, the Earth became colder and colder, and the lakes and floodplains around the equator in South America gradually disappeared, leaving only the Amazon River rushing eastward, and the environment on which the Prussian crocodile depended disappeared, and they eventually all went extinct.
Although the Prus crocodile eventually became extinct, its caiman family continues to this day and is the most common crocodile in South America today.
Caimans living in South America today, image from the Internet
The Prus crocodile was the last of the super-giant crocodiles on Earth, and no genus of crocodiles has ever appeared in the genus more than 10 meters since then, but on Earth today, crocodiles are still the most dangerous presence in tropical and subtropical waters.
bibliography:
1.aguilera, orangel a.; riff, douglas; bocquentin‐villanueva, jean (2006). "a new giant purussaurus (crocodyliformes, alligatoridae) from the upper miocene urumaco formation,venezuela". journal of systematic palaeontology 4 (3): 221–232. doi:10.1017/s147720190600188x. issn 1477-2019.
2.aureliano, tito; ghilardi, aline m.; guilherme, edson; souza-filho, jonas p.; cavalcanti, mauro; riff, douglas (2015). "morphometry, bite-force, and paleobiology of the late miocene caiman purussaurus brasiliensis". plos one 10 (2): e0117944. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117944. issn 1932-6203.
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5.blanco, r. e.; jones, w. w.; villamil, j. n. (2014-04-16). "the 'death roll' of giant fossil crocodyliforms (crocodylomorpha: neosuchia): allometric and skull strength analysis". historical biology: 1. doi:10.1080/08912963.2014.893300.
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