Shieldcroc: Ancient Crocodile Had a Large Bony Plate on Its Head

Posted on November 7, 2011

An ancient crocodile, dubbed Shieldcroc, had a large shield-like skull. Livescience.com reports that the ancient croc may have fed on Coelacanths, 4-meter long fish, in rivers during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately 93 to 99 million years ago. The skull of Shieldcroc was excavated in Morocco.

Casey Holliday, a professor of anatomical sciences at the University of Missouri, says Shieldcroc had a head size of about two meters (6 feet) and a body size of about 9 to 11 meters (30 to 36 feet).

Discovery reports that Shieldcroc may be the last common ancestor to modern crocodiles and alligators.

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