Sarcosuchus imperator

1973-9 MNHN.F.GDF662
Reptilia, Archosaura, Crocodyliformes, Pholidosauridae
Cretaceous, Aptian-Albian, 125 to 112 million years ago
Gadoufaoua, Ténéré Desert, Sahara, Niger

Sarcosuchus imperator was, as its name suggests, the emperor of “flesh-eating” crocodiles. It was one of the largest crocodiles ever to have existed in the world, measuring up to 10 m in length and weighing 4 tonnes.

Formidable predator, its jaws, which were lined with a hundred teeth, acted as a veritable fish trap. It also ate tortoises, lizards and herbivorous dinosaurs that came to drink from the rivers it inhabited. It also engaged in more peaceful activities like sunbathing which was a way of regulating its internal temperature.

Its elongated snout terminated in a bulbous nostril that may indicate that it had an exceptional sense of smell. The same structure, called a ghara, is found in male Ganges gharials that use it to produce a hissing sound to attract females.

Its belly is protected by a plastron and its back by dorsal armour composed of bony plates known as osteoderms.  

This relatively complete specimen was found in 1973 by Philippe Taquet in the famous Gadoufaoua deposit in Niger. For its display in the Gallery, several missing bones and teeth were modelled or cast and are easily distinguishable from the fossil elements.