Overview
- An Iowa-led team formally described the species in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, publishing the peer-reviewed paper on March 11–12.
- Crocodylus lucivenator lived about 3.4–3.0 million years ago in Ethiopia’s Hadar Formation, overlapping the hominin Australopithecus afarensis.
- At an estimated 12–15 feet long and roughly 600–1,300 pounds, it is reconstructed as the largest carnivore in the Hadar ecosystem.
- Specimens reveal a prominent midline boss on the snout and an extended prenarial rostrum, traits the authors suggest served display functions.
- One mandible preserves partially healed injuries consistent with intraspecific face-biting, and analyses group the species with other extinct East African Crocodylus while indicating Hadar held a single crocodylian versus multiple in coeval Turkana deposits.