Prehistoric crocodile discovered in North Carolina
RALEIGH - When it came time to name the previously unknown prehistoric crocodile whose bones were found in Chatham County several years ago, paleontologist Lindsay Zanno went with something decidedly unsubtle.
She chose Carnufex carolinesis, Latin for "Carolina butcher."
"I thought it had a nice ring," said Zanno, a research professor at N.C. State University who also runs the paleontology and geology lab at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences. "When I saw this animal, and when we reconstructed its skull, it was clearly an animal built for slicing flesh."
The discovery of the Carolina butcher will be announced Thursday in a paper in the journal Scientific Reports and with a public presentation at the science museum in downtown Raleigh starting at 11 a.m.
The presentation includes an artist's rendering of what the creature might have looked like, based on the few bones that were found and what's known about its closest relatives.
This specimen was about 9 feet long and was probably a top predator, feasting on armored reptiles and early mammals found at the time, about 231 million years ago. This is the beginning of what's known as the late Triassic Period, when what is now Chatham County was near the equator in a warm, humid environment of ferns and conifers.
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/prehistoric-crocodile-discovered-in-chatham-county/ar-BBiqwPh?ocid=mailsignout
= new reply since forum marked as read
Reminds me of an old boss.
Was the monster wearing a saddle?
