Strange Crocs of the Sahara

Did you read the article on "The Strange Crocs of the Sahara" in the November 2009 issue of the National Geographic? This is SO INTERESTING. Here are a few of these ideas which I am passing on to all of you.

Since the 1990s, Paul Sereno and his research team has been worked in the Sahara to find large and small creatures that lived with the dinosaurs. Recently, this team found a treasure trove of crocs that populated Gondwana--today's southern continents--approximately 110 million years ago.

The creatures which Paul Sereno and his team found are somewhat like crocodilians living today. Some have textured skull bones and slow-growing armor, some resemble mammals with erect limbs for fleet-footed pursuit of prey on land, teeth divided into incisors, canines, and postcanines and forward pointing eyes.

In light of freshwater crocs in Australia, it seems clear that these ancient crocs had both upright, agile legs for galloping over land and a versatile tail for paddling in water.

The National Geographic offers four imaginary pictures of what various ancient crocs might have been like.
1. The BoarCroc is a 20-foot long meat-eater with an armor snout it used to ram and three sets of fangs for slicing. Eye sockets turned forward enhanced stereoscopic vision to aid in hunting. Large, well-developed muscles gave the jaw extra biting power.
2. The RacCroc has a pair of buckteeth in the lower jaw to allow this croc to burrow in the ground for tubers.
3. The DogCroc has differentiated teeth and a soft nose pointing forward, and possibly escaped from predators with its lanky legs.
4. The DuckCroc has a broad overhanging snout and hook-shaped teeth which helped it to catch small fish or worms in shallow water.

God's marvelous creatures have been at work through millions of centures. And many of them still exist today. We human beings continue to marvel the more we learn about God's creatures.

What are YOUR insights and YOUR experiences. Perhaps one day YOU will make an important discovery to enlighten human puruits ever further. Let me hear from YOU.

John Willis