Before dinosaurs ruled, the ‘Carolina Butcher’ was top croc

Researchers say Carnufex carolinensis, an early crocodile ancestor, was probably a dominant predator in the Triassic.

|
Jorge Gonzales / North Carolina State University
Life reconstruction of Carnufex carolinensis.
|
North Carolina State University
Reconstructed skull of Carnufex carolinensis. 3D surface models of skull bones shown in white. Grey areas are missing elements reconstructed from close relatives of Carnufex.

Imagine you’re being chased down by a nine-foot-long crocodile. Now look behind you – the crocodile is running on two legs.

If you were small game in Triassic North America, this could have been your frightening reality.

A team led by Lindsay Zanno, director of the Paleontology and Geology Research Laboratory at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science, has reconstructed the fossil remains of one of the earliest and largest crocodylomorphs. Noting its fearsome teeth, they called it Carnufex carolinensis, which translates to “Carolina Butcher.” This bipedal beast was described for the first time today in Scientific Reports.

“‘Butcher’ seemed a very appropriate way to get that into the minds of people,” Dr. Zanno told LiveScience.

Unearthed from the 231-million-year-old sediment of North Carolina’s Pekin Formation, Zanno's Carnufex specimen was fragmented – parts of the skull, spine, and forelimb were found intact. But with a high-resolution surface scanner and reference parts from close ancestors, Zanno’s team was able to reconstruct the ancient croc. Carnufex was big for its time – about nine feet long – and walked on its hind legs.

Carnufex was an early member of Crocodylomorpha, a once-diverse group of animals that has since been reduced to modern crocodilians. As we know them, alligators and crocodiles are hulking and short-legged. But many ancient crocodylomorphs were actually quite spry – some looked more like foxes, dressed in reptilian armor. And while many were only mid-sized, Carnufex would have made a viable top-tier predator.

In Triassic North America, it was crowded at the top of the food chain. Early theropod dinosaurs vied for dominance alongside large reptiles called poposaurids and rauisuchids. But it was previously unclear whether large crocodylomorphs occupied the same trophic level.

“We knew that there were too many top performers on the proverbial stage in the Late Triassic,” Zanno said in a statement. “Yet, until we deciphered the story behind Carnufex, it wasn't clear that early crocodile ancestors were among those vying for top predator roles prior to the reign of dinosaurs in North America.”

A mass-extinction event ended the Triassic period, killing off most non-dinosaur predator species in the process. In their place, theropod dinosaurs thrived and reigned for 135 million years. But a few small crocodylomorphs survived the fallout, eventually giving rise to modern crocodilians. The butcher may be long dead, but its legacy lives on.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Before dinosaurs ruled, the ‘Carolina Butcher’ was top croc
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2015/0319/Before-dinosaurs-ruled-the-Carolina-Butcher-was-top-croc
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe