A 5-meter monster crocodile dominated the waterways of southeastern Queensland, Australia millions of years ago.
Researchers at the University of Queensland have identified the reptilian giant – now known as the “swamp king” – after studying its 25-inch (65-centimeter) fossilized skull, which was first discovered in the 1980s.
In Latin, the name of the genus Paludirex translates as “swamp king” and the name of the species winner was chosen to honor the late Geoff Vincent, a resident of the town of Dalby in southeast Queensland, who discovered the giant skull near the town of Chinchilla in Queensland.
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The greatest modern day crocodile is the Indo-Pacific saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), which can grow to about the same size. Their record size is actually even higher, at over 6 meters, set by Lolong who died in captivity in the Philippines in 2013, according to CNN.
“But Paludirex had a wider and heavier skull, so it would have looked like an Indo-Pacific crocodile on steroids, “said Jorgo Ristevski, a doctoral candidate at the University of Queensland’s School of Biological Sciences. he said in a statement. According to researchers, this would have allowed the giant croc to hunt oversized prehistoric marsupials and make him one of Australia’s top predators.
The king of the swamp probably appeared at the same time as modern crocodiles – in the last 55 million years. More research is now being done to determine how these massive fangs died, while their thinner relatives remained.
“If Paludirex winner disappeared as a result of competition with species such as Crocodylus porosus “It’s hard to say,” said Steve Salisbury, a senior lecturer at the University of Queensland and a fellow author of the study. “The alternative is that it disappeared as the climate dried up and the river systems it once inhabited contracted.” he explained, adding, “we are currently investigating both scenarios.”
The findings were published in the journal on December 21 PeerJ.
Originally published on Live Science.