SMU Terminonaris: New Native Texan (VIDEO)
Caption
Making its first appearance in Texas, a prehistoric crocodile thought to have originated in Europe now appears to have been a native of the Lone Star State. The switch in origins for the genus known as Terminonaris is based on the identification of a rare, well-preserved, narrow fossil snout that was discovered along the shoreline of a lake near Dallas. The first of its kind ever discovered in Texas, the new Terminonaris while alive easily weighed a ton and was as much as 25 feet long, says paleontologist Thomas L. Adams at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, who identified the reptile. The 96-million-year-old fossil from Texas is the oldest prehistoric crocodile of its kind in the world, Adams said. See www.smuresearch.com for more information. High resolution video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHS6vE4o3XY.
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Southern Methodist University
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