North Carolina State University researchers have identified a new species that might have been the top predator in North America before the dinosaurs. The Carnufex carolinensis has been nicknamed the 'Carolina Butcher'.
Lindsay Zanno and Susan Drymala co-authored the study in the journal Scientific Reports. Drymala says this Triassic ancestor of the crocodile lived at a time before mammals and reptiles split into different classes.
"If you saw it you would probably think it was a dinosaur right off the bat. 'Cause it was something that was pretty large, still reptilian looking, but would have stood upright. It had a pretty small forearm, so it's pretty likely that it walked on its back legs."
Fossils from this predator are on display in the labs at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.