A crocodilian species that swam the waters of Titanoboa 60 million years ago weighed up to 900 pounds.
The ancient reptile was described in a new study, a Florida Museum of Natural History news release reported.
The species was dubbed Anthracosuchus balrogus, after a ferocious character in J.R.R. Tolkien's novel "The Lord of the Rings." Anthracosuchus balrogus was characterized by a curiously-blunt snout.
The species could help researchers gain insight into how today's crocodiles adapt to their environments.
"It quickly became clear that the four fossil specimens were unlike any dyrosaur species ever found," lead author Alex Hastings, a post-doctoral researcher at Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg, said in the news release. "Everyone thinks that crocodiles are living fossils that have remained virtually unchanged for the last 250 million years. But what we're finding in the fossil record tells a very different story."
"We couldn't believe it had such a boxy, short skull and that it was still a dyrosaur. It really busts the mold for these animals. It is such a completely different looking beast than we've seen for these crocodile-like animals," co-author and Florida Museum associate curator of vertebrate paleontology Jonathan Bloch said in the news release.
The finding could help scientists gain a better understanding of early crocodiles in the Neotropics.
Dyrosaurids are believed to have swam across the Atlantic from Africa to South America about 75 million years ago. The animals somehow survived the extinction of the dinosaurs.
"This group offers clues as to how animals survive extinctions and other catastrophes," Hastings said. "As we face climates that are warmer today, it is important to understand how animals responded in the past. This family of crocodyliforms in Cerrejon adapted and did very well despite incredible obstacles, which could speak to the ability of living crocodiles to adapt and overcome."
