Mekosuchus
From Freepedia
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Mekosuchus is a genus of an extinct Australasian crocodiles called mekosuchines. It was driven to extinction by the arrival of humans on the South Pacific islands where it lived.
Fossils of early mekosuchines such as Trilophosuchus have been found from Miocene Australia, although the mekosuchines had gone extinct in Australia prior to the arrival of humans. Mekosuchus survived until the Holocene, and fossils have been found in New Caledonia, Vanuatu and Fiji.
Mekosuchus inexpectatus, the species found on New Caledonia, grew about 2 meters long and unlike most crocodiles, it was terrestrial. The poor soils of New Caledonia promote a restriction in large ground-dwelling prey, so Mekosuchus had specialized back teeth for cracking mollusk shells.
Bibliography
The Future Eaters by Tim Flannery.
