This graphic is comparing the size of the ancient crocodile Pakasuchus kapilimai to a housecat. P. kapilimai once roamed Tanzania in the Middle Cretaceous period and had a number of features unusual for crocodylians, including mammal-like teeth and a flexible spine. Paleontologists scouring a river bank in Tanzania unearthed the previously unknown "croc" from 105 million-year-old, mid-Cretaceous rock in the Great East African Rift System. The discovery was made by an international team of researchers, led by Patrick O'Connor of Ohio University, who were funded in part by NSF.

To learn more about this discovery, see the NSF press release,These Crocs Were Made for Chewing? Further information is also available in the NSF special report, "These Crocs Are Made for Biting!" (Date of Image: 2010)