Jurassic-era crocodile with T-rex teeth discovered in Madagascar

A group of scientists discovered fossils belonging to an ancient, extinct crocodile relative that has deep and massive jaw bones armed with enormous serrated teeth like those of a T-rex.

The study was published on 4 July 2017 in the journal PeerJ.

As per the study, the animal found in Madagascar in Africa was a top land predator of the Middle Jurassic period, when dinosaurs ruled the Earth.

The full name of the predatory crocodyliform is Razanandrongobe sakalavae, which means "giant lizard ancestor from Sakalava region".

Key highlights

• Nicknamed Razana, the animal’s jaw bones and serrated teeth strongly suggested that just like T-rex, it also fed on hard tissue such as bone and tendon.

• These anatomical features indicate that it is a Jurassic notosuchian, close to the South American baurusuchids and sebecids, that were highly specialized predators of terrestrial habits, but different from present-day crocodilians in having a deep skull and powerful erect limbs.

• The animal is believed to be the oldest and possibly the largest representative of a group of crocodile-like animals called Notosuchians.

• The animal could outcompete even theropod dinosaurs, at the top of the food chain.