Armadillosuchus fossil found in Brazil

Fossils of a large Armadillo look-alike creature, that were found in Brazil in the area around modern day Sao Polo state, were unveiled at an environmental museum in Rio by researchers, on July 7, 2009.

Armadillosuchus photo via National Geographic

The Armadillosuchus fossil is 90 million years old.

The researchers at Rio de Janerio’s federal university said that the Armadillosuchus was unique to that place.

The study of its fossils revealed that the creature was 2 meters long and weighed 120 kg.

The large crocodile was christened Armadillosuchus arrudai. The creature had bony plates on its neck and back similar to that of an armadillo.

“It had a carapace, a wide skull, a short, narrow snout, and relatively small, specialized teeth that make it distinct from any other crocodile discovered,” the university said.

Researchers also found it strange that the Armadillosuchus could chew like mammals.

“The Armadillosuchus arrudai could move its lower jaw forward and backward, using its teeth to tear into dried meat, roots, pine branches, and mollusks,” Thiago Marinho, a paleontologist with the Federal University, was quoted as saying by The National Geographic.

The other surprising fact was that Armadillosuchus was found in a hot, dry region.

“The Armadillosuchus is only found in the interior of Sao Paulo state and this is a surprise, partly because it challenges the idea that crocodiles are found in hot and humid climates,” UFRJ paleontologist Ismar de Souza Carvalho said.

“In this case, they are crocodiles that live in a climate that is quite hot, dry and arid,” he added.

The researchers also said that the Armadillosuchus would have lived in the Cretaceous era when the temperature of the Earth would be somewhere around 45 degree Celsius.

Armadillosuchus fossils which included the head foot and ribs were displayed in a news conference in Rio.