Giant Miocene Crocodylian Dominated South America's Ancient Food Web

A team of paleontologists analyzed fossilized bite and tooth marks on Miocene herbivore remains from Colombia, revealing that the colossal crocodylian Purussaurus neivensis, measuring about seven meters, was the dominant predator in the region. The marks, ranging from 10.5 to 16 million years old, indicate frequent attacks on giant ground sloths, glyptodonts, astrapotheres and toxodontids, suggesting the reptile helped regulate these massive herbivore populations.

Oscar Wilson of the University of Helsinki explained that the sheer volume of large prey limited the impact of mammalian hunters such as saber-toothed mammals and terror birds. This research challenges previous assumptions that mammals were the primary apex predators in ancient South American ecosystems. The study appears in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and highlights the ecological influence of giant crocodylians in shaping tropical communities.