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Description
More examples of my fossil photography can be seen in my DA "Paleo & Sci Illo" gallery:

lexlothor.deviantart.com/galle…

This is a cast of the skull of a Champsosaurus from the late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation. Champsosaurs were archosaurs that were only distantly related to dinosaurs and crocodilians. They diverged from these other groups in the Triassic. These aquatic creatures were probably specialists in catching fish. They were one of the few large bodied vertebrate lineages to survive the end of the Cretaceous. They lived on millions of years into the Paleocene but became extinct for no reason that science can be certain of. Their ecological niche is filled today by narrow snouted crocodilians such as the gavial. This skull of this specimen is almost a meter long.

This cast is on display at the Black Hills Institute in Hill City, South Dakota.

text (c) John P. Alexander

I have eliminated the background on this photo so that the image may be used for educational and artistic purposes. Please inform me if you use this picture as stock.

Description
More examples of my fossil photography can be seen in my DA "Paleo & Sci Illo" gallery:

lexlothor.deviantart.com/galle…

This is a cast of the skull of a Champsosaurus from the late Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation. Champsosaurs were archosaurs that were only distantly related to dinosaurs and crocodilians. They diverged from these other groups in the Triassic. These aquatic creatures were probably specialists in catching fish. They were one of the few large bodied vertebrate lineages to survive the end of the Cretaceous. They lived on millions of years into the Paleocene but became extinct for no reason that science can be certain of. Their ecological niche is filled today by narrow snouted crocodilians such as the gavial. This skull of this specimen is almost a meter long.

This cast is on display at the Black Hills Institute in Hill City, South Dakota.

text (c) John P. Alexander

I have eliminated the background on this photo so that the image may be used for educational and artistic purposes. Please inform me if you use this picture as stock.