CROCCY HORROR

13ft beast walked like a man and ‘ate anything’

A HALF-TON 13ft crocodile that lived 120 million years ago walked upright on two legs, say scientists.

With powerful jaws, razor-sharp teeth and legs as long as a human, it was able to chase and eat just about anything.

The fearsome Batrachopus grandis was identified from almost 100 10-inch footprints unearthed near Sacheon, in South Korea.

Prof Martin Lockley, of the University of Colorado Denver in the US, said: “They were giants. Nobody expected such large bipedal crocs.

“But, like a carnivorous dinosaur, they could also have hunted in shallow water. They likely ate whatever was available.”

A team led by Prof Kyung Soo Kim, of Chinju National University, South Korea, found the tracks on the shore of a shallow lake. He said: “We were shocked.

Typical crocodiles walk in a squat stance and create wide trackways.

“Oddly, our trackways were very narrow, looking more like a crocodile balancing on a tight-rope. Combined with the lack of any taildrag marks, it became clear that these creatures were moving on two feet in the same way as many dinosaurs – but the footprints were not made by dinosaurs.

“They and their bird descendants walk on their toes. Crocodiles walk on the flat of their feet leaving clear heel impressions, like humans do.” Prof Lockley added: “The tracks indicated it was about four metres long and terrestrial. They are narrow and made entirely by the back limbs. There are clear heel to toe impressions and skin traces.”

The extraordinary detail enabled a computer reconstruction to be generated.

The reptile, an ancestor of today’s crocodiles and alligators, lived mainly on the land but ventured into water to hunt fish and other animals.

HARD TO SWALLOW Belt is pulled out BARK SHADOW X-ray shows it in his intestines

LEGGING IT Fearsome croc was identified from prints, right