A VERY LARGE FOSSIL CROCODILE

Despite being not-too-distant relatives of the dinosaurs, the crocodilians survived the great extinction at the end of the Cretaceous (66 million year ago). Steneosaurs were a successful genus in the Jurassic, with at least twelve species found in sites across Europe and Morocco since 1825. A long snout with sharp teeth would suggest a diet predominantly of small fish. The preservation of armoured scutes to the body hint of a more combative lifestyle in the coastal waters of the Tethys Ocean 180 million years ago.