Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
492 / Cenozoic
Champsosaurus
Champsosaurus gigas
Long jaws and a powerful tail let choristoderes retain a crocodile-like niche after the dinosaurs.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 60–50 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Eocene
- Geographic range
- Large freshwater lakes and rivers · North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Champsosaurus?
Champsosaurus (Champsosaurus gigas) was an extinct organism known from About 60–50 million years ago, with a range in Large freshwater lakes and rivers · North America.
Life and ecology
It waited in water and trapped fish; females may have nested ashore while adult males rarely left water.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Champsosaurus disappear?
Eocene changes in climate, drainage and predators are possible context; the fossil record does not establish a specific cause.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Champsosaurus?
Skulls, skeletons and pelvic differences support aquatic and reproductive interpretations.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS