Bus-sized crocodiles once roamed the Earth

Gigantic "terror crocodiles" that were as large as buses once roamed the Earth. This terrifying picture comes from a study that was published this week in the "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology". The study is from universities in the USA. Researchers who are experts in paleontology - the study of dinosaurs - studied ancient bones found in North America. They said that the dinosaurs lived along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of what is now Canada and the USA. The giant beasts preyed on other dinosaurs and were up to ten metres in length. The researchers discovered that the prehistoric crocodiles had razor-sharp teeth that were the size of large bananas.

Co-author of the study Dr Adam Cossette gave details of how he thought the crocodiles lived. He said they lived between 75 and 82 million years ago and are the ancestors of today's crocodiles and alligators. He wrote about his research on the bone parts he studied. He said: "Until now, the complete animal was unknown. These new specimens we've examined reveal a bizarre, monstrous predator with teeth the size of bananas." He added that it was, "a giant that must have terrorised other dinosaurs that came to the water's edge to drink." Another co-author of the study described how scary the beast was. She wrote: "It was so enormous, almost everything in its habitat was on the menu."