Crocodilian: Gryposuchus

Gryposuchus 01
BlogCrocodilian
11 min.Read
KYO. RYUU. SHA
By KYO. RYUU. SHA
Gryposuchus 01
Gryposuchus Illustration

Introduction:

Gryposuchus is an extinct gavialid crocodilian which has been discovered in many countries of South America. The name translates to ‘Hook-nosed crocodile‘ and it is technically not a crocodile because of the name or anything, rather, Gryposuchus is more closely connected with the group of Gharials, the super narrow and long snout with sharp teeth looking ones. Gharials are like cousins to Caimans, Crocodiles and Alligators. Gryposuchus is pretty well understood because of the numerous finds from all across South America along with some other Gryposuchus species. Now you know a slightly more about Gryposuchus and let’s dive deeper to understand this extinct gavialid a lot better.

Discovery:

The first fossil of Gryposuchus was a skull which was discovered in Pauini River of Brazil in the 1943 but was unfortunately destroyed in the World War II bombing of Hamburg. It is quite saddening and disappointing that a lot of specimens were destroyed due to a human orchestrated conflict and we lose more evidence of the life that is already lost and lose our chance to marvel and learn about our life on Earth.

Pauini River
Pauini River of Brazil

But all is not lost for Gryposuchus as more fossils were found in Solimoes Formation, Urumaco Formation of northern Venezuela, along with a new species called Gryposuchus neogaeus which was found in Ituzaingó Formation of Argentina in 1885 although it was referred to as Rhamphostomopsis at the time and the naming was abandoned later on. Gryposuchus fossils were found in even more places throughout South America but most bones were mainly of skull bones. This shows that Gryposuchus was a highly successful predator of the Miocene Epoch of South America. In total there are 5 different species of Gryposuchus which are as follows:

  • Gryposuchus jessei
  • Gryposuchus neogaeus
  • Gryposuchus colombianus
  • Gryposuchus croizati
  • Gryposuchus pachakamue

Even though it was mainly discovered within South America, I do believe with further research and finds, we can understand how there were so many different species of one genera and maybe we could also learn that some maybe individual variations in place of entire different species. It is also very strange how only skull fossils are being found and not much of the skeletons so even educated estimation of the whole size may not be correct but with comparison, a total body dimension can still be estimated.

Biology:

Gryposuchus 02 Size Comparison
Gryposuchus Size Comparison

Gryposuchus was a fairly large gavialid crocodilian which reached the lengths of 10.15 m (33.3 feet) and could weigh up to 1.7 tons. With a size that is fairly large yet smaller compared to the largest crocodilians, no wonder Gryposuchus reached all parts of South American Miocene.

The Miocene Epoch presents the only time in prehistory where the rule of gavialid was the most extensive from the starting launchpad in Caribbean. Gryposuchinae was arguably the most successful and it was certainly at the top of the food chain because most fossil evidences of crocodilians show mainly gavialid species and it was one of the 2 freshwater crocodiles and so its successful dominance covered most of South America and being a crocodile, its diet was varied with all kinds of prehistoric mammals like rodents, glyptodonts, as well as toxodonts and so many more aquatic animals like fishes, turtles and snakes.

The reason why Gryposuchinae was more successful throughout the Miocene epoch because of its’ freshwater adaptation whereas most other crocodilians were more suited for estuarine, coastal and marine ecosystems. This adaptation to freshwater was super advantageous because adapting to freshwater gave access to extensive continental rivers and swamps of the Amazon basin which allowed for easier proliferation.

Now you might be wondering, if Gryposuchus was successful like most crocodilians, why did they become extinct and the answer to that may surprise. No, humans did not drive them to extinction because humanity arrived far later in time. It was there home. Yes, the South America they inhabited changed over time and became inhospitable for them. The rise in Andes Mountain chain created a natural barrier to the Pacific Ocean which was a source of warm water flow and now, the water from the Amazon Basin flowed to the Atlantic Ocean which is much colder than the Pacific.

Crocodilians cannot handle cold water all that well. And the wetland basins and swamps were becoming more arid in the Central South America, causing the habitat to become unsuitable for them. And thus Gryposuchinae became extinct. By the end of Miocene, there were at least 5 genera across South America along with several species of Gryposuchus and some even inhabited the same location. The rise and fall of gavialids in South America is truly a sad tale.

Not only Gavialoidea, but Crocodyloidea (another superfamily that populated Miocene South America) succumbed to extinction but only the Caimaninae or Caimans survived by being massively reduced in size as well as diversity and only 6 genera of Caimans are alive in South America and other parts of the world. This is a tangent from the Gryposuchus but Caimaninae also contained one of the largest crocodyliformes to ever exist, Purussaurus. I will make a Species Profile of this guy in the future and do let me know in the comments for your suggestions of Species Profile!!!

Q&A:

What does the name Gryposuchus mean?

The meaning of the name Gryposuchus, as I have written above earlier, is ‘Hook-nosed crocodile’. Now, I feel like the reason it is called Hook-nosed because of the wide bulbous shape in front of the snout and curving inwards making it look like having a hook-shape. This adaptation is mainly for catching fish and making sure it does not slip away as fish are known to have a layer of slime around them to help them move through the water easily and faster. As predator of fishes, it would definitely need those adaptations.

When did Gryposuchus live?

Gryposuchus mainly lived in the continent of South America around the Miocene Epoch, Neogene Period. Miocene Period was around 23 million years ago and a small time section in the Neogene Period, which is the period before Quartenary Period, the period in which we live and is continuing. It lived in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela & Peruvian Amazon. It was quite a widespread species and fossils have been found all across the South American continent exclusively.

What are the predators of Gryposuchus?

Umm….Gryposuchus would have no predators because of its huge size and danger it emits just by going near it. But even if it were to have predators, it would be during it’s infant or juvenile stage but I also feel that is just a sort of cherry picking because then, every predator would have their own predator. I am more of a ‘pick someone your size’ kind of guy and I do not like pitting juvenile animals against adult animals because that is already not fair and it happens in nature already which is why a fully grown, adult Gryposuchus had no predators during its time.

Is Gryposuchus a gharial?

Now this is an interesting question because paleontologists, even with all the fossils of various species of Gryposuchus they have found, have not been able to clearly place where Gryposuchus sits in the family tree of the crocodyliformes but now they have come to an understanding that Gryposuchus and its’ species did not lead to Gharial but different forms that their common ancestor evolved into until the final Gharial form. The whole group of Gryposuchinae is thought to be paraphyletic, which means the common ancestor have been the same but does not have all the descendants. Simply saying, Gryposuchus is not a Gharial but a very distant relative.

Media:

Oh wait! I just remembered, there is one media appearance of Gryposuchus and you would not believe where it is from. You may have guessed but it is from the hit mobile game, Jurassic World Alive. I certainly have played this game and I do enjoy the gameplay. Go ahead and play the game for Gryposuchus!!

Gryposuchus 03 Jurassic World Alive
Jurassic World Alive Gryposuchus

Merchandise:

Now that you know a lot about Gryposuchus, it is time to show off your love for this exquisite gavialid crocodilian and I have looked over the internet and only found this merchandise and I must say that you should get this before it becomes extinct. You know that toys nowadays, if it gets sold out from the retail market, the after market are gonna be super high and you better not waste this chance.

Mattel 2024 Jurassic World Epic Evolution Wild Roar Gryposuchus

Now, before you go, I hope you learned something about this unique crocodilian and make sure to keep coming back for more new dino and prehistoric info!!

References:

Popular Categories

BlogDinosaursCrocodilianPterosaursBooksFilmTravel
Previous article
Dinosaur: Tyrannomimus
Next article
Dinosaur: Velociraptor

Prehistoric Pedia is made for anyone who wants to learn about our Earth’s Prehistory in a easy and fun way as well as providing media to engage with. The website contains information which is well-researched and taken from real sources and this is a passion project for my own development.

Quick Access

Menu

Social Networks

© 2025 Prehistoric Pedia | All rights reserved.