SYDNEY, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) -- As if Australia's current wildlife weren't deadly enough, researchers have identified a prehistoric species of crocodile which existed on the continent millions of years ago, describing it as like a modern crocodile "on steroids."
Growing up to five metres long, the creature, dubbed "swamp king" lurked in the waterways of what is now southeastern Queensland, likely preying on giant species of marsupial which are also now extinct.
Researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) identified the croc, whose scientific name is Paludirex vincenti, from fossilised segments of skull first unearthed in the 1980s.
"The 'swamp king' was one intimidating croc. Its fossilised skull measures around 65 centimetres, so we estimate Paludirex vincenti was at least five metres long," said PhD candidate Jorgo Ristevski, from UQ's School of Biological Sciences.
The largest surviving crocodylian today is the Indo-Pacific crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, which grows to around the same size -- however Ristevski explained that Paludirex had a broader, more heavy-set skull, meaning it would have resembled an Indo-Pacific crocodile "on steroids."
"The waterways of the Darling Downs would once have been a very dangerous place because of it," Ristevski said.
The name of the species, "Paludirex" means "swamp king," and "vincenti" honours the late Geoff Vincent who discovered the giant fossilised skull near the town of Chinchilla.
"Crocs have been an important component of Australia's fauna for millions of years," supervising researcher Dr Steve Salisbury explained.
"But the two species we have today -- Crocodylus porosus and Crocodylus johnstoni -- are only recent arrivals, and were not part of the endemic croc fauna that existed here from about 55 million years ago."
It is not known why Paludirex went extinct and the team said they were continuing to investigate if it was related to a disappearance of waterways they inhabited as the climate got drier or competition from other species of crocodile. Enditem
