The creature, officially named Paludirex vincenti, measured over 16 feet (five meters) in length and dominated waterways in southeastern Queensland, according to a University of Queensland (UQ) press release published Monday.
Researchers identified the giant crocodile from fossils excavated in the 1980s near a town called Chinchilla.
The species is named after Geoff Vincent, who found a fossilized skull of the prehistoric animal. “Paludirex” means swamp king in Latin and “vincenti” honors Vincent, according to Ristevski,
“The ‘swamp king’ was an intimidating crocodile,” Ristevski said in the press release. “Its fossilized skull measures about 65 centimeters, so we estimate that Paludirex vincenti was at least five meters long.”
The largest living crocodile, the Indo-Pacific crocodile – Crocodylus porosus – grows to be about the same size, he added.
“But Paludirex had a wider, heavier skull, so it would have looked like an Indo-Pacific crocodile on steroids,” Ristevski said.
The species was one of the main predators in Australia at the time it lived, and could have eaten giant prehistoric marsupials, according to the press release.
Two species of crocodiles – Crocodylus porosus and Crocodylus johnstoni – are still living in Australia and it is not clear why Paludirex vincenti became extinct.
“Whether Paludirex vincenti has become extinct due to competition with species such as Crocodylus porosus is hard to say,” said Steve Salisbury, senior lecturer in the School of Biological Sciences and Ristevski’s supervisor at UQ.
“The alternative is that it died out as the climate dried up, and the river systems that once inhabited it shrink – we are currently exploring both scenarios.”
In September, a huge 4.4-meter (14.4-foot) saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) was captured at a remote tourist hotspot in Australia’s Northern Territory.
The crocodile, which weighs an estimated 350 pounds, was captured by conservationists in a trap in the Flora River Nature Park, a popular tourist destination southwest of the outback town of Katherine.