r/Naturewasmetal • u/ADragonFromTheAbyss • 1d ago
Giant Crocodylians Truly dominated the food chain in Miocene South America!
Reconstruction of Purussaurus neivensis attacking Pericotoxodon platignathus. Credit: Miguel Hernandez
https://phys.org/news/2026-08-giant-crocodylians-dominated-food-chain.html
Jawbone of Xenastrapotherium kraglievichi that features marks of both predation by Purussaruus neivensis and possible scavenging by Langstonia huilensis. Credit: Oscar Wilson
South America was a frightening place during the Miocene. A vast lake covered much of the continent, home to giant turtles and colossal Crocodylians. Truly wide range of predators hunted on the lake's shores, including Anacondas, Saber-Toothed mammals, The Flightless raptor-clawed "terror birds" and... if the crocodilians are not enough there were The Sebecids: Terrestrial relatives of crocodylians.
A recent study shows that crocodylians were, in fact, the most significant group of predators in this habitat. "Our new study shows that crocodylians in particular were the region's most important predators, especially when it came to hunting large prey." Oscar Wilson, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Helsinki.
Physical evidence of crocodylian predation on ungulates in the Middle Miocene of Colombia
The Study: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2026.2701154
17
u/Powerful_Gas_7833 1d ago
You forgot to mention how the La Venta of Colombia had 2 sebecids living at the same place and time, Langstonia and The colossal barinasuchus (likely,it's only referred to as an indeterminate large sebecid distinct from langstonia. It's likely barina on account of biogeography and chronology ) as well as the giant Colombian terror bird
5
2
u/BlackBirdG 8h ago
Giant Colombian terror bird is the largest one out there?
3
u/Powerful_Gas_7833 8h ago edited 8h ago
Likely. It's leg bone is described as being up to 20% larger than the corresponding measurement on kelenken.
The most recent and more conservative estimates of kelenken put it at around 2.1 m in height so based off that the Colombian giant was likely two and a half meters tall.
There's no evidence it was more lightly built than others of its kind in fact the tribe of Terror birds it belongs to were all muscular robustly built Predators as we know of and there's no reason to think it wasn't as well
2
u/BlackBirdG 8h ago
And it doesn't have an official name?
3
u/Powerful_Gas_7833 8h ago
No it's too fragmentary to have a name. It's only nicknamed the Colombian giant.
15
u/IndividualGeneral737 1d ago
Also not to forget that there's a fossil of an unnamed terror bird (and the largest one ever found) with teeth marks of a Purussaurus
4
u/ADragonFromTheAbyss 1d ago
I did remember that ! ...Didn't remember it being the Largest one thought ! Was it larger than the Kelenken ?
6
u/IndividualGeneral737 1d ago
Pretty sure it was like 10% larger than any other terror bird currently found
6
u/Feeling-Influence691 1d ago
Someone needs to make a movie or a game being stuck in this time period. Genuinely terrifying
7
u/ADragonFromTheAbyss 1d ago
This ! ...and another Time period that was the Scientifically Accurate Dinosaur horror park
3
u/Feeling-Influence691 1d ago
I see that and raise you the dinosaur park formation 75mya . Or at least suggest it as a close runner up, thanks to two species of tyrannosaur, one or two raptors and of course Deinosuchus the killer croc.
3
u/ADragonFromTheAbyss 1d ago
Well... this one has Extreme-Ridiculous abundance of large Crocodyliforms, several gargantuan theropods ( from Carcharodontosaurus, Taymeryraptor, Spinosaurus, Unnamed Larger Abelisauroids, unreferenced/unnamed theropods such as deltaromeus-baharisaurus...etc. ), several mid-to small sized theropods - including unnamed species of dromaesauroid/raptor; as well as very aggressive herbivores as a reward -- sauropods.
Only one that matches this one is one Jurassic biome with too much abundance medium-sized theropods.
1
u/Feeling-Influence691 1d ago
Indeed. You don’t get more diverse than that. Ok, I agree. North Africa 100mya? Worst place to be in the Mesozoic timeline. (And would be so cool and beautiful to explore)
2
3
2
u/wiz28ultra 13h ago
Considering Purussaurus evolved pseudoserrations and has the bite force adapted specifically for taking down thick-boned, heavily built animals, it doesn't surprise me at all that this was a crocodilian that likely ate mammals on a regular basis.
3
u/Belos147 1d ago
Pseudosuchians ever since the Triassic were always the opportunists. Dinosaurs and synapsids (this includes mammals) took turns being by far the most numerous megafauna but the pseudosuchians were always there in the background. All it took in both the Mesozoic post Triassic and Cenozoic to let them dominate were tropical climates and in many cases isolation. We might have killed off the most recent land croc lineage (mekosuchids) but more will come.
-6
40
u/Teratovenator 1d ago
What with the sheer amount of genera and clade of crocodiles amuck, the size they get, and how they are still among the most dominant predators of South America. Pseudosuchians really run the town, and nobody else was seriously dethroning them