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A terrifying 14-feet-long reptile that roamed the Serengeti-like landscape of Wyoming 155 million years ago was the 'uncle' of all modern crocodiles.
This is the conclusion of a team of researchers led from Hokkaido University, who have identified a new species belonging to the croc-like 'goniopholidid' family.
The fossil of 'Amphicotyleus milesi' was unearthed in the East Camarasaurus Quarry — named after the dinosaur finds from the site — in Wyoming's Albany County.
According to the palaeontologists, in life A. milesi would have weighed in at nearly half-a-ton and sported a mouth packed with 30 two-inch-long razor-sharp teeth.
A terrifying 14-feet-long reptile that roamed the Serengeti-like landscape of Wyoming 155 million years ago was the 'uncle' of all modern crocodiles. Pictured: an artist's impression of Amphicotyleus milesi menacing a larger camarasaurus at a watering hole
This is the conclusion of a team of researchers led from Hokkaido University, who have identified a new species belonging to the croc-like 'goniopholidid' family. Pictured: the fossil
According to paper author and palaeontologist Junki Yoshida of Japan's Hokkaido University, A. milesi was not only the 'uncle' of modern crocs — it also revealed the origin of their unique breathing system that they use for diving.
'Amphicotylus milesi has the backward extension of the nose duct and the short and curved tongue bone similar to modern crocodilians,' he explained.
'This suggests that, by keeping their external nostrils above the water surface, the crocodilian ancestors could raise the valve at the tongue.
'They could breathe underwater while holding prey in the mouth, as modern crocodilians do today.
'Amphicotylus provides a novel insight into the aquatic adaptation toward modern crocodylians,' the expert concluded.
Modern crocodiles are capable of holding their breath for up to an hour underwater.
Today there are just 25 species of crocodile still alive, but this number would have been in the hundreds during the
