What is Sarcosuchus?
Q: What is Sarcosuchus?
A: Sarcosuchus is an extinct genus of giant crocodile-like reptiles.
Q: When did Sarcosuchus live?
A: Sarcosuchus lived 135 to 112 million years ago during the Lower Cretaceous period.
Q: Was Sarcosuchus a modern type of crocodile?
A: No, strictly speaking, Sarcosuchus was not a modern type of crocodile but a pre-crocodile.
Q: What are earlier types of crocodile called?
A: Earlier types of crocodile are called Crocodylomorphs.
Q: When did true crocodiles arrive?
A: True crocodiles arrived in the Upper Cretaceous period.
Q: How large was Sarcosuchus?
A: Sarcosuchus was almost twice as long as the modern saltwater crocodile and weighed about 8 tonnes.
Q: When were new specimens of Sarcosuchus discovered, and what did they reveal?
A: In 1997 and 2000, Paul Sereno discovered half a dozen new specimens of Sarcosuchus, including one with about half the skeleton intact and most of the spine. All of the other giant crocodiles are known only from a few partial skulls, so which is actually the biggest is an open question.
