Scientists locate a reptile that predates dinosaurs

SCIENTISTS have located the remains of crocodilian ancestor that predates dinosaurs. Find out what makes this predator so scary.

The terrifying reptile that predates dinosaurs

LONG before dinosaurs, there was a terrifying 2.7-metre-long crocodilian ancestor with bladelike teeth and the ability to run on its hind legs.

The fearsome predator known as Carnufex carolinensis, or the Carolina Butcher, is believed to have preyed upon small reptiles and mammals during its reign.

Researchers located fossilised parts of the crocodilian’s skull, spine and forelimbs near Sanford, North Carolina.

They believe the predator would have roamed the warm, wet rainforests of the area around 231 million years ago during the late Triassic Period.

Director of the palaeontology lab at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Dr Lindsay Zanno said the discovery showcases the diversity of top predators of the time.

“People don’t think about how many different predators were around in the Triassic, and that crocs really ruled before dinosaurs,” Zanno told Live Science.

When researchers discovered the remains of the hunter, they noticed irregularities in the bones and knew they were dealing with a new-found creature. “It has really pronounced ornamentation on the skull, it has all these pits and grooves,” Zanno said.

While the discovery hinted at a new species, it was too difficult to visualise what the skull looked like in real life because it was preserved in pieces.

As a solution, researchers used high-resolution scanning techniques to reconstruct Carnufex’s skull from the individual bones.

“Fossils from this time period are extremely important to scientists because they record the earliest appearance of crocodylomorphs and theropod dinosaurs, two groups that first evolved in the Triassic period, yet managed to survive to the present day in the form of crocodiles and birds,” Zanno told Discovery.

Even though the Carolina Butcher was a frighting predator, its reign at the top may have been short lived.

“The Triassic was a bit of an ecological Twilight Zone: too few plant eaters and an overabundance of predators meant that the hunters often became the hunted,” Zanno said.

The researchers’ findings are published in the journal Scientific Reports.