Scientists identify 16-foot crocodile nicknamed ‘swamp king’

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2020-12-27T01:29:01+05:00 OUR STAFF REPORT

Islamabad   -  Scientists have just identified a prehistoric crocodile measuring more than 16 feet long that stalked the swamps of Australia millions of years ago.Fossils of Paludirexvincenti, nicknamed the ‘swamp king,’ were first unearthed in the 1980s but the creature was only recently identified as a distinct species.It was an apex predator that preyed on giant prehistoric kangaroos in south Queensland.With a broad, heavy-set skull measuring more than two feet long, Paludirex would have resembled the largest living croc ‘on steroids,’ according to researchers.Paludirexvincenti was named for Geoff Vincent, the Australian fossil collector who uncovered the giant fossilized skull near Chinchilla, about 200 miles northwest of Brisbane.’In Latin, ‘Paludirex’ means ‘swamp king’, and ‘vincenti’ honors the late Mr. Vincent,’ explained JorgoRistevski, a doctoral candidate at the University of Queensland’s School of Biological Sciences who specializes in extinct crocodylians from the Cenozoic Era.

 

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