'Shieldcroc' May Be Father of All Crocodiles

Posted by : Unknown 7 nov 2011

A prehistoric beast with a bony plate on its head lived 99 million years ago and may be the ancestor of today's crocodiles

A Late Cretaceous beast, "Shieldcroc," may be the last common ancestor of modern crocodiles and alligators.
Shieldcroc's name comes from the fact that it had a shield-like bony plate on the top of its skull.
The period 99 million years ago is often called the "Age of Dinosaurs," but researchers are now also calling it the "Age of Crocs."

"Shieldcroc," is named after its shield-like bony plate on its head.

An enormous prehistoric crocodile-like creature called "Shieldcroc," so named because of a shield-like bony plate on its head, could be the last common ancestor of animals related to crocodiles and alligators.
Shieldcroc lived during the Late Cretaceous approximately 93 to 99 million years ago. Its skull was discovered in continental freshwater deposits from what is now Morocco, and researchers think that modern crocs may have first evolved near the Mediterranean Sea.
But Shieldcroc then and now is capturing greater interest due to its hard-to-miss "shield," a raised mound of tissue packed with blood vessels and likely covered by a thick sheath, similar to what is seen in the frill of horned dinosaurs. It might have helped to regulate body temperature, but probably served a flashier purpose.