Name:
Stomatosuchus
(Mouth crocodile).
Phonetic: Stow-mat-o-soo-kuss.
Named By: Ernst Stromer - 1925.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Diapsida,
Archosauromorpha, Crocodylomorpha, Stomatosuchidae.
Species: S. inermis (type).
Diet: Uncertain but possibly a Piscivore.
Size: Estimated at 10 meters long.
Known locations: Egypt.
Time period: Cenomanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Single skull, since destroyed.
Even
though it was ten meters long, it is not its size that makes
Stomatosuchus stand out but its presumed feeding
strategy. The upper
jaw only had small conical teeth, while the lower jaw has been
suggested at being toothless, with the inclusion of a pelican like
pouch underneath. This is unprecedented amongst other known crocodiles
and is why this ancient crocodile was given the full name of
Stomatosuchus inermis which means 'weaponless mouth
crocodile'.
What
Stomatosuchus ate remains unknown for certain but
one theory is that it
ate fish. Stomatosuchus could either gulp water, or
wait for a fish to
pass by and then suck in water with its throat muscles drawing the fish
inside. It could then close the upper jaw and constrict its pouch to
squeeze the water out while the upper teeth prevented the fish from
escaping. Re-studying the skull with modern techniques may have shed
some more light upon how Stomatosuchus lived, but
unfortunately the
only known specimen of Stomatosuchus was destroyed
along with the rest
of the Munich Museum by an allied bombing raid in 1944.
Stomatosuchus
is just one of many North African crocodiles that developed very
special adaptations as also evidenced by the discoveries of
Laganosuchus
and Kaprosuchus,
better known as the 'Boar croc'.
Name | Time/Location | Size (meters) |
Deinosuchus (alligator-like crocodile). | Cretaceous/USA. | 10-12 |
Gryposuchus (gharial-like crocodile). | Miocene/S. America. | 10 |
Mourasuchus (alligator-like crocodile). | Miocene/Peru. | 12 |
Purussaurus (caiman-like crocodile). | Miocene/S. America. | 11-13 |
Rhamphosuchus (gharial-like crocodile). | Miocene/India. | 8-11 |
Sarcosuchus (crocodile). | Cretaceous/Africa. | 9-9.5 |
Stomatosuchus (crocodile). | Cretaceous/Egypt. | 10 |
3 of todays largest living crocs below | ||
Alligator mississippiensis (American alligator). | Present/S. E. USA. | 3.4 average - up to almost 6. |
Crocodylus niloticus (Nile crocodile). | Present/Africa. | Average up to 5, largest up to 6.45. |
Crocodylus porosus (Salt water crocodile). | Present/India, S. E. Asia, N. Australia. | Average 4-5.5, largest recorded 6-6.6, possibly slightly bigger. |
Further reading
- Ergebnisse der Forschungsreisen Prof. E. Stromers in den W�sten
�gyptens. II. Wirbeltier-Reste der Baharije-Stufe (unterstes Cenoman).
7. Stomatosuchus inermis Stromer, ein schwach
bezahnter Krokodilier. -
Abhandlungen der K�niglich Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften,
Mathematisch-Physikalische Klasse 30:1-9 - E. Stromer - 1925.