Purussaurus: Difference between revisions
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'''''Purussaurus''''' was a giant [[caiman]] living in [[South America]], 20 million years ago ([[Miocene]]). It is only known from skull material found in [[Peru]]vian [[Amazonia]]. The skull is about 1.5 meters (5 ft), and [[paleontologist]]s estimate that the whole body would have measured around 15 meters (50 ft), which means that ''Purussaurus'' is one of the largest [[crocodilian]]s known to have ever existed. Two other extinct crocodilians, ''[[Sarcosuchus]]'' and ''[[Deinosuchus]]'', have similar proportions, but both are [[geological]]ly much older, dating from the Early and Late [[Cretaceous]], respectively. During the summer of [[2005]], a franco-peruvian expedition (the Fitzcarrald expedition) found new [[fossil]]s of ''Purussaurus'' in Amazonia (600 km from [[Lima]]). |
'''''Purussaurus''''' was a giant [[caiman]] living in [[South America]], 20 million years ago ([[Miocene]]). It is only known from skull material found in [[Peru]]vian [[Amazonia]]. The skull is about 1.5 meters (5 ft), and [[paleontologist]]s estimate that the whole body would have measured around 15 meters (50 ft), which means that ''Purussaurus'' is one of the largest [[crocodilian]]s known to have ever existed. Two other extinct crocodilians, ''[[Sarcosuchus]]'' and ''[[Deinosuchus]]'', have similar proportions, but both are [[geological]]ly much older, dating from the Early and Late [[Cretaceous]], respectively. During the summer of [[2005]], a franco-peruvian expedition (the Fitzcarrald expedition) found new [[fossil]]s of ''Purussaurus'' in Amazonia (600 km from [[Lima]]). |
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==External links== |
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*[http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2008/02/monster_caimans.php Tetrapod Zoology post on ''Purussaurus''] |
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[[category:Miocene reptiles]] |
[[category:Miocene reptiles]] |
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Revision as of 16:21, 7 February 2008
| Purussaurus | |
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| Purussaurus brasiliensis | |
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| Genus: | Purussaurus |
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P. brasiliensis (type) | |
Purussaurus was a giant caiman living in South America, 20 million years ago (Miocene). It is only known from skull material found in Peruvian Amazonia. The skull is about 1.5 meters (5 ft), and paleontologists estimate that the whole body would have measured around 15 meters (50 ft), which means that Purussaurus is one of the largest crocodilians known to have ever existed. Two other extinct crocodilians, Sarcosuchus and Deinosuchus, have similar proportions, but both are geologically much older, dating from the Early and Late Cretaceous, respectively. During the summer of 2005, a franco-peruvian expedition (the Fitzcarrald expedition) found new fossils of Purussaurus in Amazonia (600 km from Lima).
External links
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