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With a skull nearly two meters long, it's more than twice the size of any modern croc. This was Sarcosuchus. Weighing as much as eight tonnes, it's the undisputed king of crocodiles.

– Description from New Giants

Sarcosuchus (name meaning "flesh crocodile"} is a genus of crocodylomorph which lived during the Early to Middle Cretaceous period in what is now Africa and South America. It grew to 12 metres and may have weighed 8 tonnes.

Facts[]

1x1 SarcosuchusScaresOffSpinosaurus

A Sarcosuchus scares off a Spinosaurus which disturbed its hibernation. (Lost World)

Sarcosuchus was a very large crocodilian. It measured about 12 metres (40 feet) in length and weighed a maximum of 8 tonnes. The shape of the bones of Sarcosuchus gives the impression that they looked similar to the modern false gharials. Like the gharials, Sarcosuchus possessed an expansion at the end of its snout called a bulla. However, unlike the gharials, all Sarcosuchus skeletons found possess a bulla, proving that they were not a part of sexual dimorphism. Sarcosuchus, like other giant crocodylomorphs, were hypercarnivores. Its sheer size enabled it to hunt medium sized dinosaurs and adolescent sauropods. The African species of Sarcosuchus mostly likely hunted animals like Ouranosaurus and juvenile Paralititan. The South American species mostly likely hunted animals like Macrogryphosaurus and juvenile Argentinosaurus.

The size of Sarcosuchus can be extrapolated from the largest known skull (the skull-to-body ratio is remarkably stable among crocodilymorphs), which produces an animal that can rival Purassasaurus and Deinosuchus in size.

Sarcosuchus may have had a bite of up to 9 (or less) tonnes (around 18,000 pounds)

In Planet Dinosaur[]

Lost World[]

1x5 SarcosuchusVSCarcharodontosaurus

A Sarcosuchus and a Carcharodontosaurus fights over a Paralititan mired in mud. (New Giants)

During a drought, when a Spinosaurus confronted another, smaller crocodile, the confrontation caused a Sarcosuchus to awaken from its hibernation. Not tolerating their presence, the Sarcosuchus warded off the crocodile and the Spinosaurus and then resumed hibernation.

New Giants[]

As a herd of Paralititan left the River of Giants after being attacked by a pack of smaller crocodiles, one juvenile got stuck in a pit of mud. The distress of the struggling animal caught the attention of the crocodiles as well as a Sarcosuchus. Displaying its authority, the Sarcosuchus walked up the river bank to the Paralititan. After a moment, the Sarcosuchus viciously bit the juvenile's leg and tried to pull it out of the mud and into the river. However, a Carcharodontosaurus arrived on the scene and too tried to claim the Paralititan. The two predators then played a deadly game of tug-of-war. Out of the two predators, the Sarcosuchus lost its grip and retreated back to the river.

Trivia[]

  • The model used for Sarcosuchus in the show was later reused in two other documentaries, NOVA's National Geographic special, Bigger Than T. Rex, and Deadly Dinosaurs: With Steve Backshall.

Gallery[]

To be added...

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