How old is Champsosaurus?
How old is Champsosaurus?
Its fossils have been found in North America (Alberta, Saskatchewan, Montana, New Mexico, Texas,[4][5] and Wyoming) and Europe (Belgium and France), dating from the Upper Cretaceous to the mid Eocene.
Is Champsosaurus a crocodile?
Champsosaurus is an extinct genus of crocodile-like choristodere reptile, known from the Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene periods of North America and Europe (Campanian-Paleocene).
How much did the Champsosaurus weigh?
A typical Champsosaurus would have weighed about 50 or 60 pounds and measure between 5 and 8 feet in length, or 1.5 to 2.5 meters. Champsosaurus vaguely resembled a gharial and, like gharials, it was primarily aquatic, catching fish with its long, tooth-lined jaws.
In which time period did Champsosaurus appear in the fossil record?
Size: Depending upon the species, anywhere between 1.5 and 3.5 meters long. Known locations: Canada and the USA. Some fossil remains also reported from France. Time period: Turonian of the Cretaceous through to the Thanetian of the Paleocene.
When did Champsosaurus go extinct?
Probably the most famous choristoderan genus was Champsosaurus (pronounced as CHAMP-so-SORE-us). It first appeared about 90 MYA during the Turonian Stage of the late Cretaceous Period, persisted through the K-T Extinction, and finally went extinct during the Paleocene Epoch of the Tertiary Period about 56 MYA.
Why did the Champsosaurus go extinct?
They went extinct as the global temperature reached a peak during the Eocene period. The Rocky Mountains also formed throughout Champsosaurus’ history, and changes in that mountain-forming process might have played a role in their extinction.
What did Champsosaurus eat?
They looked like crocodiles, though, because they shared the same job in their environment. Like modern gharials, these animals ate fish. As agile swimmers, some species could chase fish through weed-filled waters.
