03-07-2025
This animal, living in pre-historic era, had a jaw as big as a saltwater crocodile — the largest living reptile on Earth
Picture something the size of a school bus, cruising through seas, in the time of dinosaurs, with a mouth one would dread to meet. That was Kronosaurus queenslandicus, the apex predator of its time.
Fossils show Kronosaurus reached around 9–11 meters long (30–36 ft), though some early estimates stretched it to about 12 m. Its skull was enormous, between 2.2 to 2.85 m long, similar in scale to the largest living reptiles like saltwater crocodiles.
A jaw dug up in Australia measured a frightening 1.6 m, and it packed double the bite force of today's crocodiles. This beast's teeth were conical and up to 30 cm long, built for crushing shells and slicing through tough prey.
More than just a big head, Kronosaurus had four strong flippers and a sturdy body, making it a fast and powerful swimmer. It hunted everything from giant squid and ammonites to even other marine reptiles like turtles and plesiosaurs.
Scientists found fossilised tooth marks on plesiosaur remains, proving Kronosaurus could take down hefty prey.
Beefy, bold, and built for hunting, the dino was named in 1924 by Heber Longman after the fearsome Greek Titan Kronos, this marine titan first surfaced from a jaw fragment in Queensland . A nearly whole skeleton was sent to Harvard in 1932. While that display earned 'Plasterosaurus' its nickname, later studies confirmed Kronosaurus was every bit as fearsome as imagined.
During the Early Cretaceous era, much of central Australia was covered by the Eromanga Sea, a warm inland ocean. Kronosaurus ruled these waters, similar to how the saltwater crocodiles dominate today.
For paleontologists, the Kronosaurus is a window into Earth's prehistoric oceans.
