.6" Cretaceous Crocodilian Vertebra (Champsosaurus) - Montana

Here's a small tail vertebra from the Cretaceous aged reptile Champsosaurus sp. It was collected from private land from the Two Medicine Formation (Judith River Group) of Montana.

Champsosaurus
Reconstruction by Nobu Tamura
Reconstruction by Nobu Tamura
is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile belonging to the order Choristodera. It grew to about 1.50 meters (5 feet) long, though C. gigas, the largest species, reached 3-3.5 meters (10–12 feet) in length. Champsosaurus resembled a gharial and, like gharials, hunted in rivers and swamps, catching fish with its long, tooth-lined jaws. It probably swam with lateral body movements, pinning its limbs against its body to increase its streamline, just like modern crocodiles and the Marine Iguana. Behind the eyes, Champsosaurus's skull was very wide to accommodate for the powerful jaw muscles attached there.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Champsosaurus
LOCATION
Hill County, Montana
FORMATION
Judith River Formation
SIZE
.6" wide
ITEM
#106839
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