Paleontologists have just announced the discovery of a new species of crocodile. This reptile is like a prehistoric monster that roamed the rivers that now belong to Colombia during the Paleocene period, more than 60 million years ago.
The newly discovered prehistoric monster is named Anthracosuchus balrogus . The word balrogus comes from “balrog” – a ferocious monster living deep underground in the novel Lord of the Rings by writer JRTolkien.
Photo: Sci-News
Anthracosuchus balrogus is classified as an extinct dyrosauridae. These creatures originated from Africa, having swam across the Atlantic Ocean to South America about 75 million years ago. It is unclear how this creature survived after the dinosaurs were wiped out globally. And they become the strongest carnivores.
Four Anthracosuchus balrogus fossils were unearthed in the Cerrejon coal mines of northern Colombia. Sci-News quoted Dr. Alex Hasting, lead author of the article published in the journal History of Biology, as saying that scientists quickly determined it was a new species, different from any other species of dyrosauridae ever found. seen before.
Fossils found show that Anthracosuchus balrogus was about 5m long, weighed an average of 410kg with a strangely straight snout compared to other species in the dyrosauridae family. This snout gives them the ability to bite very hard.