This 23-foot crocodylian may have ruled South America’s food chain

Automated news aggregation. Headlines and summaries are gathered from public feeds; see our editorial standards for sourcing, corrections, and AI-assist disclosure.

Miocene South America was packed with giant prey—and the predators hunting them were just as spectacular. Fossil bite marks suggest crocodylians, especially the enormous Purussaurus neivensis, were more important predators than mammals in this ancient tropical ecosystem. At around seven meters long, Purussaurus may even have helped control populations of giant herbivores.