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Ancient Human Ancestors Faced Fearsome Horned Crocodile
Live Science ^ | Feb 23, 2010 | Charles Q. Choi

Posted on 02/24/2010 5:14:22 AM PST by decimon

A newfound horned crocodile may have been the largest predator encountered by our ancestors in Africa, researchers now suggest.

Scientists have even found bones from members of the human lineage bearing tooth marks from this reptile, whose scientific name, Crocodylus anthropophagus, means "man-eating crocodile."

This predator, which lived some 1.84 million years ago, possessed a deep snout that would have made it look more robust than modern crocodiles. It also had prominent triangular horns.

"They would have been visible mostly from the side as projections behind the eye," said researcher Christopher Brochu, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of Iowa. "If you looked at them from the front, you would have seen ridges projecting upwards."

A couple of living species of crocodile have similar horns, such as the Cuban and Siamese crocodiles. "Males will use these in mating season to show off," Brochu explained. "While submerged they kind of tip their head forward, showing off the prominence of their horns to females."

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: History
KEYWORDS: godsgravesglyphs

1 posted on 02/24/2010 5:14:23 AM PST by decimon
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To: SunkenCiv

Horn of Africa ping.


2 posted on 02/24/2010 5:15:05 AM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

History meets present day Florida!!


3 posted on 02/24/2010 5:16:08 AM PST by Sacajaweau (What)
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To: decimon

Inaccurate and insulting.


4 posted on 02/24/2010 5:19:09 AM PST by glide625 (We wouldn't find ourselves ensnared by the Evil One if we weren't nibbling at his bait!)
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To: decimon
Hope this does not trigger a debate with the evolution vs creation crowd. ;-)
5 posted on 02/24/2010 5:19:30 AM PST by verity (Obama Lies)
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To: decimon
"While submerged they kind of tip their head forward, showing off the prominence of their horns to females."

Explains a lot about the late Ted Kennedy, don't it?

6 posted on 02/24/2010 5:24:35 AM PST by Tigerized (Proud Dad of a US Marine)
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To: decimon

Well, at least they didn’t have to deal with democrats.


7 posted on 02/24/2010 5:30:29 AM PST by pieceofthepuzzle
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To: decimon


8 posted on 02/24/2010 5:32:15 AM PST by JoeProBono (A closed mouth gathers no feet)
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To: JoeProBono

Antisemitic crocodile.


9 posted on 02/24/2010 6:24:03 AM PST by decimon
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To: decimon

IBTHTP
(In before the Helen Thomas picture)


10 posted on 02/24/2010 6:33:48 AM PST by Verbosus (/* No Comment */)
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To: decimon; cajuncow; StayAt HomeMother; Ernest_at_the_Beach; 1ofmanyfree; 21twelve; 240B; 24Karet; ...

· join list or digest · view topics · view or post blog · bookmark · post a topic · subscribe ·

 
Gods
Graves
Glyphs
Thanks decimon. And thanks cajuncow for sending a link in FReepmail.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.
GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother, and Ernest_at_the_Beach
 

·Dogpile · Archaeologica · LiveScience · Archaeology · Biblical Archaeology Society ·
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· The Archaeology Channel · Excerpt, or Link only? · cgk's list of ping lists ·


11 posted on 02/24/2010 5:51:35 PM PST by SunkenCiv (February 23, 1945 -- Freedom is Priceless.)
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To: verity

They were created with horns. ;-)


12 posted on 02/24/2010 5:54:31 PM PST by Redcitizen (Zot-choo!!)
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To: SunkenCiv
I always suspected there was a basis in fact to the one eyed, one horned flying purple people-eater.
13 posted on 02/24/2010 8:16:42 PM PST by Ken H (Debt free is the way to be)
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To: decimon

No wonder we have nightmares.


14 posted on 02/24/2010 8:35:59 PM PST by ZULU (Hey Obama, how DO you pronounce "corpsman"?????)
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To: Verbosus

Helen Thomas foto posters should be shot on sight. That’s not a joke.


15 posted on 02/25/2010 5:03:13 AM PST by Lee'sGhost (Johnny Rico picked the wrong girl!)
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