Image Copyright Angela Rizza
No, we’re not pulling your wings. Researchers recently unearthed the remains of giant, ancient reptiles buried deep within a coal mine of Colombia, naming the species Anthracosuchus Balrogus, after the Balrogs from J.R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth.
According to to Jonathan Bloch, Florida Museum of Natural History’s Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology, the 60 million year old croc-like creatures measured 16 feet in length and would have weighed in at an estimated 900 pounds.
“Everyone thinks that crocodiles are living fossils that have remained virtually unchanged for the last 250 million years.” reported Martin Luther Universität Halle-Wittenberg researcher, Alex Hastings. “But what we’re finding in the fossil record tells a very different story. It quickly became clear that the four fossil specimens were unlike any dyrosaur species ever found.”
Whether you’re of the wingless Balrog persuasion or prefer your Balrogs to fly, I think we can all agree this ancient croc won the jackpot in cool Latin name identification. Don’t you??
