My, what big teeth you have ‘Croc Dog’

A newly identified crocodile species that lived 70 million years ago had very big teeth and a dog-shaped head—and used its long limbs to chase down prey. Named Pissarrachampsa sera, the fossil was discovered by a municipal worker in Cretaceous sediments in a small town in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

Researchers at McGill University say that given the number and size of their teeth, the researchers believe these carnivorous crocs fed on animals of the same 15- to 20-foot size range—such as dinosaurs and fellow crocs from the region. They would have used relatively stereoscopic vision to track prey and, rather than scramble like the crocs we see today, they galloped on elongated limbs.

Full story at Futurity.

(Photo credit: Hans Larsson, McGill University)