Marine Crocodile

Steneosaurus bollensis

Posidonia Shale, Early Jurassic: Toarcian,
approx. 180 Mio. years old
Holzmaden, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Crocodiles are an ancient group of reptiles that have been around since the Triassic period. In the Mesozoic Era they were very diverse and occurred in numerous habitats. Steneosaurus is an early representative of the Thalattosuchians, a crocodile group that was highly adapted to life in water. Thalattosuchians were probably inhabitants of both nearshore and open ocean areas and had a similar lifestyle to toothed whales and dolphins today.

SNSB-BSPG 1957 I 453
Original