Jurassic Crocodile Relative from Morocco Had Needle-Thin Teeth

Paleontologists have described a new genus and species of teleosaurid thalattosuchian based on two specimens found in eastern Morocco. The ancient predator had a mouth lined with thin, needle-like teeth, a dentition the researchers say is unlike that of any other known crocodile-line animal.

An artist’s reconstruction of Ctenosuchus tenuidens in a freshwater setting; the animal is depicted with an elongate rostrum and dense needle-like dentition, reflecting the anatomy described from the fossil specimens and a probable feeding strategy focused on small aquatic prey. Image credit: Nathan Dehaut.

Ctenosuchus tenuidens lived in what is now Morocco during the Middle Jurassic, about 165 million years ago.

The animal was a type of thalattosuchian, a group of mostly marine crocodylomorphs from the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.