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Bus-sized crocodiles once roamed the Earth

Terror Crocodiles - Level 0

Giant "terror crocodiles" the size of a bus lived on Earth 75 million years ago. Researchers studied old bones found in America. They said the crocodiles lived along the east and west coasts of North America. Some of the giant crocodiles were ten metres long. They hunted and ate other dinosaurs.

The giant crocodiles changed to give us today's crocodiles. A researcher studied new bones. He said the bones showed there was a strange, giant hunter "with teeth the size of bananas". He said it scared "other dinosaurs that came to the water's edge to drink". Another researcher said it was so big it ate almost everything.

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Terror Crocodiles - Level 1

Giant "terror crocodiles" the size of a bus were once on Earth. A study published in the "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology" described the crocodiles. Researchers studied old bones found in North America. They said the dinosaurs lived along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The giant crocodiles were up to ten metres long. They hunted and ate other dinosaurs. The prehistoric crocodiles had razor-sharp teeth the size of large bananas.

The study said the giant crocodiles lived around 75 million years ago. Today's crocodiles come from them. A researcher said: "Until now, the complete animal was unknown. These new [bones] we've examined reveal a bizarre, monstrous predator with teeth the size of bananas." He said it "terrorised other dinosaurs that came to the water's edge to drink". Another researcher wrote: "It was so enormous, almost everything in its habitat was on the menu."

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Terror Crocodiles - Level 2

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Giant "terror crocodiles" as large as buses once roamed Earth. A study published this week in the "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology" described the crocodiles. Researchers who are experts in paleontology - the study of dinosaurs - studied old bones found in North America. They said the dinosaurs lived along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts. The giant beasts preyed on other dinosaurs. They were up to ten metres long. The researchers found that the prehistoric crocodiles had razor-sharp teeth the size of large bananas.

A co-author of the study detailed how he thought the crocodiles lived. He said they lived around 75 million years ago. They are the ancestors of today's crocodiles. He wrote about his research on the bone parts. He said: "Until now, the complete animal was unknown. These new specimens we've examined reveal a bizarre, monstrous predator with teeth the size of bananas." He said it "must have terrorised other dinosaurs that came to the water's edge to drink." Another author described how scary it was. She wrote: "It was so enormous, almost everything in its habitat was on the menu."

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Terror Crocodiles - Level 3

Gigantic "terror crocodiles" that were as large as buses once roamed the Earth. This terrifying picture comes from a study that was published this week in the "Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology". The study is from universities in the USA. Researchers who are experts in paleontology - the study of dinosaurs - studied ancient bones found in North America. They said that the dinosaurs lived along the Pacific and Atlantic coasts of what is now Canada and the USA. The giant beasts preyed on other dinosaurs and were up to ten metres in length. The researchers discovered that the prehistoric crocodiles had razor-sharp teeth that were the size of large bananas.

Co-author of the study Dr Adam Cossette gave details of how he thought the crocodiles lived. He said they lived between 75 and 82 million years ago and are the ancestors of today's crocodiles and alligators. He wrote about his research on the bone parts he studied. He said: "Until now, the complete animal was unknown. These new specimens we've examined reveal a bizarre, monstrous predator with teeth the size of bananas." He added that it was, "a giant that must have terrorised other dinosaurs that came to the water's edge to drink." Another co-author of the study described how scary the beast was. She wrote: "It was so enormous, almost everything in its habitat was on the menu."

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