Millions of years before the most famous meat-eating dinosaurs, such as Tyrannosaurus rex and Spinosaurus aegyptiacus, roamed the planet, other massive creatures claimed the role of apex predators in the Triassic period — which stretched from 252 million years to 201 million years ago.
One of those was Fasolasuchus tenax, a nearly ten-meter (about 32 feet) relative of the early ancestor of modern-day crocodiles. Lesser known than many of those massive meat-eating dinosaurs that dominated later periods of the Mesozoic era, this species recently rose to fame on the big screen.
When Did Fasolasuchus Live?
Found in northwestern Argentina, Fasolasuchus is the largest representative of a loose agglomeration of species traditionally known as the rauisuchians, which included creatures that claimed the role of apex predator for much of the Triassic period.
During this period, life was recovering after a mass extinction — known as the Great Dying. This era ended with another smaller extinction event, which ultimately wiped out species like Fasolasuchus and the rauisuchians, paving the way for the rise and eventual dominance of the dinosaurs.
