Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Prehistoric Monster Crocodile Found

Posted by timothy on from the jaws-before-jaws-were-cool dept.

F452 writes: "From an AP story in the Minneapolis StarTribune: 'A crocodile longer than a school bus and weighing about 10 tons was the top predator in an African river 110 million years ago, routinely dining on large dinosaurs that came within range of its toothy jaws.' Cool."

18 comments

  1. Crocodile Hunter! by Mr.Phil · · Score: 4, Funny
    How come I see Steve Erwin jumping around yelling "crikey" and getting his daks in a bunch? Or trying to get enough people to jump on top of it to capture it?

    At least his mate Wes better be there.

    *chuckle*

    1. Re:Crocodile Hunter! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's Irwin.

  2. Prehistoric Monster Congressman Found by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    In Washington, DC.

  3. Photos by zpengo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Why must Slashdot always post the articles without photos? D'oh! Here's one, for those who were wondering.

    --


    Got Rhinos?
    1. Re:Photos by ackthpt · · Score: 1
      I thought about posting the article, but thought, "Nah, they'd reject that, it's not controversial or funny enough." I just never seem to get it.

      Oh, btw, we already knew these existed, those who saw the 'documentary' called Lake Placid!

      --

      A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
    2. Re:Photos by FortKnox · · Score: 1
      • 2001-10-25 09:33:31 Super-Croc Found (articles,science) (rejected)


      Your right, they wouldof rejected it, just like mine (this happens sooooo often to me).
      --
      Good quote, too many chars. Seriously, the slashdot 120 char limit sucks!
    3. Re:Photos by spudnic · · Score: 2

      What is the url of the article that this picture was part of?

      --
      load "linux",8,1
    4. Re:Photos by F452 · · Score: 1

      I think the key was to use the word "Prehistoric" :-)

  4. Hooboy! by kypper · · Score: 2

    can you imagine the number of shoes I could make with that bugger? KRIKEY!

  5. Crocodile Dundee 0 : The African Trip by Monsieur_F · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I wonder if these giant crocodiles had giant predators too...

    --
    McCartney fans pay bus tickets. [...] Lennon fans too, with discretion.
  6. On display anytime soon? by DahGhostfacedFiddlah · · Score: 1

    The article didn't mention how much of the skeleton they had, or whether it would be on display somewhere. I'd love to see this thing.

    --
    Last post!
  7. film rights by oliphaunt · · Score: 2, Funny

    Quick before David Lynch thinks of it-- remember the real John Shaft? And remember the second movie, Shaft in Africa? (for those of you who won't click, the tagline was "the brother man in the motherland.")

    Now, I know that Godzilla is from Japan. But isn't this just screaming for a Gozilla vs. Shaft movie?

    Come on, think about it. Samuel Jackson as John Shaft, PhD paleontologist, Angelina Jolie as the environmentalist leading the local protest. They discover this huge skeleton, and one night, full moon, romantic tension between the leads, and while the lions sleep...the monster comes to life!

    I've already got a deal with Burger King to release commemorative plastic cups.

    --




    Humpty Dumpty was pushed.
  8. Suzanne Summers? by CrazyDwarf · · Score: 0, Offtopic

    She went from being a big predator Croc, to being a fund raising crock. I seriously think she takes all that feed the children money and eats and eats and eats...

    --
    It's easy to stand out when the general level of competence is so low.
  9. Longer than a school bus? by Man+of+E · · Score: 2, Insightful

    How many rivers are big enough that several things like that could be submerged in at once and still remain hidden? Seems like a rather limited habitat.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une sig
    1. Re:Longer than a school bus? by shpoffo · · Score: 1

      yea, well, rivers at one point had a lot more water in them when the climate was radically different - not to mention the sharp decrease in water levels as humans started drastically altering the landscape. I've seen the stream in our vally drop more that 6 inches (30cm) in the last 20 years alone.

      -shpoffo

    2. Re:Longer than a school bus? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      6 inches = 15 cm

  10. More complete story by Man+of+E · · Score: 3, Informative

    Here's a more complete story about it on National Geographic:
    http://www.nationalgeographic.com/supercroc/
    The page has more photos, information about the paleontologists, and a link to a photo gallery.

    --
    Ceci n'est pas une sig
  11. Ignorant question by Embedded+Geek · · Score: 1
    OK, the article indicated these critters grew to these lengths in 50 to 60 years.

    Does anyone know how long a modern croc takes to reach full growth (say, 12 feet)? For that matter, what about "hyper-giant" animals in general, such as those giant sharks in the paleozoic (or whatever period it was)?

    PS - Maybe I should've titled this "does size matter?"

    --

    "Prepare for the worst - hope for the best."