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Fossils Link Up To Reveal Previously Unknown Species Of Prehistoric Crocodile

Lucky Break Leads To Discovery Of Prehistoric Species
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Law student & former journalist

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To complete a puzzle, you need all the pieces. So when an amateur fossil hunter showed only a portion of a fossilized crocodile skull to researchers at a British dinosaur museum, they didn't think much of it. But when another fossil hunter came across a snout bone that completed the skull, the researchers suddenly realized they were looking at the remains of not only a previously unknown species, but an entirely new genus of prehistoric crocodile.

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A reconstruction of Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti shows the ancient crocodile feeding. (Illustration by Mark Witton, image courtesy of The University of Portsmouth)

Lead researcher Dr. Steve Sweetman, a paleontologist at England's University of Portsmouth, likened the discovery of the new species of prehistoric crocodile -- dubbed Koumpiodontosuchus aprosdokiti, or "button-toothed" crocodile -- to a lucky break:

The sheer serendipity of this discovery is quite bizarre. Finding the two parts is in itself remarkable. That they should be found three months apart by different collectors and taken to the museum where the same members of staff were on duty and therefore able to recall the first specimen defies belief!

The skull pieces were uncovered in 2011 on the coast of the Isle of Wight, in the English Channel. Sweetman and his colleagues believe the well-preserved fossils are about 26 million years old.

A diagram of the fossil find illustrates the anatomical features of the ancient crocodile species' skull and snout. (Image courtesy of The University of Portsmouth)

Unlike other prehistoric crocodile species, the button-toothed croc was tiny. The researchers estimate that members of the newly discovered species likely measured about 2 feet long. Based on the size and shape of the teeth, it's likely that the croc fed on snails and small invertebrates.

A paper describing the new croc species was published online March 11, 2014 in the peer-reviewed journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica.

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Before You Go

Extinct Prehistoric Animals
Titanis walleri(01 of09)
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This North American bird, which stood over 8 feet tall, would have had an enormous, axe-like beak. (credit:Dmitry Bogdanov / Creative Commons)
Dunkleosteus terreli(02 of09)
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This heavily-armored predator had the second most powerful bite of any fish. (credit:Nobu Tamura / Wikimedia Commons)
Indricotherium(03 of09)
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The hornless rhinoceros-like creatures of this genus were the largest land mammals of all time. (credit:Dmitry Bogdanov / Creative Commons)
Megatherium(04 of09)
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Giant ground sloths of this genus were about the size of today's elephants. The megatherium only went extinct around 10,000 years ago (right around the time when humans started farming), and smaller relatives may have survived as late as the 16th century! (credit:Dmitry Bogdanov / Creative Commons)
Dinornis novaezealandiae(05 of09)
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Richard Owen, director of London's Museum of Natural History, stands next to the largest of all moa. Moa, which originated in New Zealand, were flightless, and some were even wingless. (credit:John van Voorst)
Argentavis magnificens(06 of09)
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The Argentavis magnificens, an early relative of the Andean Condor, was the largest flying bird ever discovered. (credit:Stanton F. Fink / Creative Commons)
Diprotodon optatum(07 of09)
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These creatures, the largest marsupials that ever lived, roamed Australia. Some scientists have suggested that stories of the supernatural 'bunyip' creature in Aboriginal folklore could be based on diprotodonts. (credit:Dmitry Bogdanov / Creative Commons)
Deinotherium giganteum(08 of09)
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These distant relatives of modern elephants had an imposing appearance, with strange, downward-curving tusks and heights of up to 16 feet at the shoulder. (credit:Dmitry Bogdanov / Creative Commons)
Leedsichthys problematicus & Liopleurodon rossicus(09 of09)
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The fearsome Liopleuredon, right, had a jaw nearly ten feet long. The Leedsichthys, left, was a bony fish that may have been even larger than it looked; some estimates put its maximum length at 53 feet.Correction: An earlier version of this slide had the positions of the Liopleuredon and Leedsichthys reversed. (credit:Dmitry Bogdanov / Creative Commons)
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