Scientists have identified a new species of extinct reptiles — carnivores measuring 12 to 18 feet in length and related to crocodiles — that lived 212 million years ago in the U.S.
The fossils of the reptile named Vivaron haydeni was found in Ghost Ranch of New Mexico during an excavation in 2009.
Vivaron haydeni is named for a famed, monstrous snake — 30 feet long — of Ghost Ranch lore, a story passed around campfires more than a century ago.
The fossil represents the sixth species of rauisuchid found thus far, and the second found in what is now the American Southwest, but was once part of the western portion of the supercontinent Pangea.