Top Species of Giant Crocodilians You’re Glad Are Extinct
Meet the most terrifying prehistoric relatives of the modern crocodile…
“It is the wisdom of the crocodiles, that shed tears when they would devour.” ~ Francis Bacon
Crocodiles and their relatives invoke some kind of primal fear in us. It’s no hard to explain why: the unexpressive stillness of their eyes, their menacing jaws, their different pace — all constitute an alien impression for a warm-blooded mammal. To be among these reptiles one is reminded of a different kind of world long vanished from the earth.
Indeed the ancestry of these mighty creatures dates back to the Late Triassic period, some 235 million years ago. During the course of this vast timescale, the crocodilian lineage witnessed the evolution of some truly giant predators, far larger and deadlier than any of their modern-day counterparts.
The most terrifying members of the crocodilian family tree are briefly introduced below. Thankfully all of them had long since gone extinct.
