1" Crocodile Fossil Vertebrae Bone Hell Creek FM Cretaceous Dinosaur Age MT

Location: Hell Creek Formation, Montana (Private Land Origin)

Weight: 0.3 Ounces

Dimensions: 1 Inch Long, 0.8 Inches Wide, 0.6 Inches Thick

The item pictured is the one you will receive. 

Cretaceous Age through to the Eocene Age 

Crocodiles are reptiles of the order Crocodylia that have existed for millions of years, evolving into a wide variety of species over time. During the Cretaceous Period, approximately 145 to 66 million years ago, several crocodile species inhabited the Hell Creek Formation in what is now the northern United States. This formation spans parts of Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming and preserves a snapshot of a diverse Late Cretaceous terrestrial environment.

Among the most famous crocodiles from Hell Creek is Deinosuchus, a giant predator that ranks among the largest crocodile-like reptiles ever discovered. Some individuals of Deinosuchus reached lengths of up to 40 feet (12 meters). It had a robust body, a long, tooth-filled snout, and powerful limbs adapted for both swimming and terrestrial locomotion. As an apex predator, Deinosuchus likely preyed on dinosaurs and other large animals, dominating the Late Cretaceous food chain.

Another species, Borealosuchus, was a medium-sized crocodile measuring approximately 10–15 feet (3–4.5 meters) in length. Borealosuchus had a slender body and an elongated snout lined with sharp teeth, suggesting a diet primarily consisting of fish and smaller vertebrates.

The third species, Leidyosuchus, was smaller, reaching about 6–8 feet (1.8–2.4 meters) long. It had a broad, rounded snout with blunt teeth, an adaptation indicating a diet focused on mollusks, crustaceans, and other small aquatic creatures.

Together, these crocodile species illustrate the diversity of crocodylian life in the Hell Creek Formation and highlight the varied ecological roles that crocodiles occupied during the Late Cretaceous.