Name:
Champsosaurus (Greek for "field lizard"); pronounced CHAMP-so-SORE-us
Habitat:
Rivers of North America and western Europe
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary (70-50 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 5 feet long and 25-50 pounds
Diet:
Fish
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Long, narrow body; long tail; narrow, tooth-studded snout
About Champsosaurus:
Appearances to the contrary, Champsosaurus wasn't a true prehistoric crocodile, but rather a member of an obscure breed of reptiles known as choristoderans (another example being the fully aquatic Hyphalosaurus). However, Champsosaurus lived alongside the genuine crocodiles of the late Cretaceous and early Tertiary periods (both families of reptiles managing to survive the intervening K/T Extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs), and it also behaved like a crocodile, spearing fish out of the rivers of North America and western Europe with its long, narrow, tooth-studded snout.
