• Remains in Tunisia Reveal Massive, Sea-Dwelling Crocodile
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[url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/01/12/terrifying-ancient-crocodile-discovered-in-the-sahara-was-the-size-of-a-bus/]Source[/url] [quote]Paleontologists searching far and wide in Tunisia made a discovery of massive proportions: the world's largest sea-dwelling crocodile, previously unknown to science. This prehistoric crocodile is believed to have measured more than[B] 30 feet (10m~) long and weighed three tons[/B]. The skull alone is more than five feet long. Researchers named the new species the[B][U][I] Machimosaurus rex[/I][/U][/B] and described their findings this week in the journal Cretaceous Research. "Massive" is how lead author Federico Fanti of the University of Bologna described the crocodile. "It's just big. It's almost the size of a bus." He added: "It definitely was at the top of the food chain at the time, at least in this particular locality." Fanti and his team, supported by National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration, found the fossils buried below just a few inches of sediment on the edge of the Sahara Desert in Tunisia, a country rich with fossils. "This one was a big surprise, not because we found fossils, but we found beautiful ones," Fanti said. The skull took two days to uncover, and the "rest of the body was just lying there." This particular site was likely home to a lagoon that faced the ocean. Researchers also found the remains of fish and turtles that they still need to identify. The M. rex was "absolutely capable" of hunting in the water and could have been an ambush predator or a scavenger, Fanti said. Comparing M. rex to other crocodiles that also have big heads and short teeth suggests the M. rex had "a very incredibly powerful bite force" that would let it crush its food, Fanti said. Turtles, for instance, would have been an ideal meal. This discovery is groundbreaking for reasons other than girth; Fanti said this finding undermines previous theories about prehistoric life. The group of crocodiles that M. rex belongs to was considered to have gone extinct about 150 million years ago at the end of the Jurassic Period, but this particular M. rex lived about 130 million years ago.[/quote] [t]https://img.washingtonpost.com/wp-apps/imrs.php?src=https://img.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp-content/uploads/sites/36/2016/01/8-811x1024.jpg&w=1484[/t]
That's a huge bitch.
Looks like something out of a SyFy monster movie.
Jurassic World forsaw this.
It is as our Lord Delethor has predicted, long has he foreseen this doom
Stop it Cthulu we don't want more of your hellspawn.
[QUOTE]the world's largest [i]sea-dwelling[/i] crocodile[/QUOTE] Worth noting that there's already previously known crocodiles that are larger, you're probably familiar with them if you've played Ark. [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcosuchus]Sarcosuchus[/url] was supposedly slightly longer and way heavier than this, at 11–12 metres (36–39 feet) in total length and 8 tonnes.
[QUOTE=Elspin;49523858]Worth noting that there's already previously known crocodiles that are larger, you're probably familiar with them if you've played Ark. [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarcosuchus]Sarcosuchus[/url] was supposedly slightly longer and way heavier than this, at 11–12 metres (36–39 feet) in total length and 8 tonnes.[/QUOTE] [del]Forgive me if I'm wrong, but as far as I can tell the Sarcosuchus isn't a crocodile, just something similar to it. Much like true crabs and porcelain crabs / king crabs.[/del] [editline]oops[/editline] I was wrong, the one in the article seems to be in the same situation.
[QUOTE]Previous studies pointed to "a big global extinction between the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods that wiped out a number of marine reptiles, including this group of reptiles," Fanti said. M. rex lived way after this "hypothesized mass extinction." "That's leading us to consider the mass extinction theory is wrong and that we should better understand what's going on at the end of the Jurassic period," Fanti said.[/QUOTE] This feels more important.
It's cool how we're always uncovering more of the past and making discoveries.
[QUOTE=Dr. Kyuros;49524274]This feels more important.[/QUOTE] I've fallen out of the whole Paleontology scene. I forgot, was there a distinctive end between Jurassic/Cretaceous? I knew that there was a bit of a collapse at the end of the Triassic
[QUOTE=Zillamaster55;49525144]I've fallen out of the whole Paleontology scene. I forgot, was there a distinctive end between Jurassic/Cretaceous? I knew that there was a bit of a collapse at the end of the Triassic[/QUOTE] The Jurassic-Cretaceous transition is one of the weakest and most unclear geologic period changes out there. I would say that the Paleogene-Neogene transition was even more apparent. It certainly pales in comparison to the extinction events that started and ended the transitions of the other periods of the Mesozoic era. On a related note, Thalattosuchians are so cool. Although the Teleosaurs like Machimosuchus looked much more "crocodilian", the Metriorhynchids, their cousins, look like freaking croc dolphin/sharks. [T]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/07/Metriorhynchus_supercil1DB.jpg[/T][T]https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/e5/20/0a/e5200ac7799f26ba59a6f40fe2ea5d79.jpg[/T] [T]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Geosaurini.png[/T]
Those would make great dakimakuras to sell during shark-week. edit: as a bonus you could sell anime-eye adhesives or some shit seperately to make them less spooky after the novelty wears off.
[QUOTE=soulharvester;49525886]Those would make great dakimakuras to sell during shark-week. edit: as a bonus you could sell anime-eye adhesives or some shit seperately to make them less spooky after the novelty wears off.[/QUOTE] Uhh, okay then...
[QUOTE=lonefirewarrior;49526124]Uhh, okay then...[/QUOTE] [img]http://i.imgur.com/dqRf5bj.png[/img] You know you want one.
it's in tunisia. what else could it be? [img]http://i.imgur.com/gNm6ONw.jpg[/img]
I wish I could eat a piece of it.
It always bothers me that they don't release photos of said fossils when these things pop up. They are probably out there somewhere but meh, what's the deal
I guess Rule34 wasn't wrong after all
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