Swamp king, a huge prehistoric crocodile measuring more than 16 feet in length, has been identified. It is believed that this type of reptile used to stalk the swamps of Australia many million years ago. It is worth mentioning that this is not the first prehistoric crocodile that has been identified. The first one’s identification dates back to the late 19th century. That particular crocodile has been identified as the Pallimnarchus pollens.
In a report published in The Daily Mail, it has been mentioned that the Swamp King, scientifically known Paludirex Vincenti’s remains were first found in the 1980s. The dangerous reptile is believed to have preyed on giant prehistoric kangaroos in south Queensland. Even though the remains were found in the 80s it is only in 2020 that it has been identified as a distinct species.
Previously, the fossilised skull segment of the huge animal was put on display in the Queensland Museum for quite a few years. It is only in 2011 that it was donated to Chinchilla Museum. The skull of the reptile was huge and measured as much as 26 inches. At a point in time, the researchers said that Paludirex Vincenti’s would have probably resembled like the largest living crocodile on steroids.
The Swamp King’s formal name Paludirex Vincenti comes from an Australian fossil collector’s name Geoff Vincent. He was also the person who had found the huge fossilised skull of the crocodile. The approximately two feet long skull was found near Chinchilla, which is about 200 miles northwest of Brisbane. The first name of the huge reptile comes from a Latin term Paludirex which basically means the swamp king and the second half of the name has been dedicated to the founder of the huge skull.
Jorgo Ristevski, a doctoral candidate at the University of Queensland's School of Biological Sciences who specializes in extinct crocodilians from the Cenozoic Era referred to the Paludirex Vincenti as one intimidating crocodile.
He added, “The largest crocodylian today is the Indo-Pacific crocodile, Crocodylus porosus, which grows to about the same size. But Paludirex had a broader, more heavy-set skull so it would have resembled an Indo-Pacific crocodile on steroids. The lakes, rivers and swamps of southeastern Queensland were once very dangerous because of this toothy predator. Paludirex would have been top predator in southeastern Queensland during the Pliocene Epoch, between 5.33 and 2.58 million years ago”.