Ancient Crocodylians Employed Brutal Hunting Tactics, Study Reveals

Long before the patient ambush of the modern crocodile became nature's template, its prehistoric ancestors appear to have written a far more violent chapter in the story of predation. Paleontologists examining fossilized bone — fractured, punctured, and crushed — have found evidence that ancient crocodylians were active, forceful hunters who engaged in prolonged struggles with their prey, a behavioral profile strikingly different from their living descendants. The discovery invites us to reconsider how apex predators shape the worlds they inhabit, and how much of an animal's inner life — its s