crocodiles in dinosaur times

Of all the reptiles alive today, crocodiles and alligators may be the least changed from their prehistoric ancestors of the late Cretaceousperiod, over 65 million years ago--although the even earlier crocodiles of the Triassic and Jurassic periods sported some distinctly un-crocodile-like features, such as bipedal postures and vegetarian diets.By the start of the Jurassic period (about 200 million years ago), crocodiles had mostly abandoned their terrestrial lifestyles. This is when we begin to see the marine adaptations that characterize modern crocodiles and alligators: Long bodies, splayed limbs, and narrow, flat, tooth-studded snouts with powerful jaws (a necessary innovation, since crocodiles feasted on dinosaurs and other animals that ventured too close to the water). About 100 million years ago, toward the middle of the Cretaceous period, some crocodiles had begun to imitate their dinosaur cousins by evolving to enormous sizes. The king of the Cretaceous crocodiles was the enormous Sarcosuchus, dubbed "SuperCroc" by the media, which measured about 40 feet long from head to tail and weighed in the neighborhood of 10 tons.