An expedition in Kenya deliver the scientists to the
discovery of new fossil species of giant crocodiles. This is probably the largest
crocodile ever found on Earth.
The giant reptiles that lived in the waters of East
Africa between 2-4 million years ago. Interestingly, these animals allegedly
treated as kudapannya human ancestors.
Fossil specimens found were part of the body along
the 7.5-meter crocodile. These giant animals could even grow to 8 feet long.
This was stated by Christopher Brochu, associate professor of earth sciences
from the University of Iowa.
Brochu was accidentally tripped over the fossil
crocodile was three years ago, when examining fossils of the giant that is
stored in the National Museum of Kenya in Nairobi. Previously, no one thought
it was a pile of bones of the crocodile species that has never been found.
So big, it takes great effort just four men to lift
the skeleton of this animal, which was originally extracted from the Turkana
Basin, an area around Lake Turkana in northern Kenya.
This region is known as a hotspot discovery of
ancient human fossils. Hominid species, the human dwarf, previously also been
lifted from the Turkana Basin. Brocu said, it is likely that dwarf human beings
end up being a prehistoric crocodile food.
"Crocodiles that live side by side with the
ancestors of humans, and most likely eat them," Brochu said in a statement
published science site, LiveScience.
"Although we have not found human fossils are
bitten by a crocodile, but alligators are larger than the species that exist
today. While human-sized hominids is much smaller than human now, so most
likely the crocodile did not bite but swallow it whole."
Crocodile Crocodylus thorbjarnarsoni named, took the
name of crocodile experts as well as colleagues Brochu, John Thorbjarnarson,
who died of malaria in the field.
In 2010, Brochu also published a paper on the
discovery of a horned man-eating crocodile from Tanzania called Crocodylus
anthropophagus.
Brochu and his team of research results published in
the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology May 3, 2012.
The record alligator
Guinness World Records record, the largest crocodiles
that live in captivity is the saltwater crocodile is found in Cairns,
Australia.
The Cairns Post news agency reported that the
saltwater crocodile which was then named Cassius found on Green Island or 27
miles off the coast of Cairns. Cassius has a length of 5.5 meters which has a
scientific name Marineland Melanesia.
Meanwhile, on 5 September 2011, Bunawan villagers in
the province of Agusan del Sur, Philippines capture alive a saltwater crocodile
that has a length of 6.4 meters and weigh more than 1 ton.
Need more than 100 people to drag the crocodile from
the water and a heavy equipment to lift it onto the truck.
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