Overview

• Dated to the very end of the Cretaceous, the fossil was excavated from the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation in Patagonia, Argentina.
• The specimen preserves parts of the skull and jaws along with arm, leg and tail bones in a rare, partly articulated state.
• Bone histology points to an approximately 19-year-old animal that was sexually mature but not yet fully grown.
• Researchers project adult individuals at roughly 7 meters in length and around 1,000 kilograms in mass.
• A crocodyliform forelimb is lodged between the jaws, an observation consistent with feeding behavior but also compatible with combat or post-mortem placement, and the bones are curated at the National University of Patagonia San Juan Bosco.