The small predatory reptile lived among the largest apex predators.
Paleontologist Rodrigo Müller holds the fossils of Parvosuchus aurelioi, an ancient crocodile-like reptile found in Brazil.The new species belongs to a group of crocodile-like reptiles called pseudosuchians and are the first "unequivocal" gracilisuchid, an extinct genus of tiny pseudosuchians, Rodrigo Müller, a paleontologist at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria and lead author of the paper, told ABC News via email.
"The presence of this small predator among fossils of much larger predators suggests that these ecosystems, where Brazil is located today, were more complex than previously imagined," he said. "The moment when I realized that the skull was embedded in the rock was stunning," Müller said. "As I slowly removed a layer of rock, part of the orbital rim was exposed. It was as if this animal was looking at me, as if it had been waiting all these endless years to tell its story."
The skull measures at less than 6 inches in length and features long slender jaws with pointed teeth that curved backwards, as well as several skull openings.
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