Toothless dinosaur that looked like an ostrich is ancient crocodile relative
Palaeontologists have described Labrujasuchus expectatus, a bipedal, beaked reptile from Ghost Ranch. The find shows how ancient crocodile relatives evolved dinosaur-like body plans during the Triassic.
Palaeontologists have uncovered a bizarre toothless reptile that looked strikingly like an ostrich-like dinosaur despite belonging to the ancient crocodile family tree, shedding new light on the wild evolutionary experiments of the Triassic era.
The newly described species, named Labrujasuchus expectatus, lived around 210 million years ago and belonged to a group of ancient crocodile relatives known as shuvosaurids. The discovery, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, reveals an animal that defied expectations: it walked on two legs, had tiny forelimbs, and possessed a completely toothless beak-like mouth.
Despite its bird-like appearance, researchers say the creature was not a dinosaur. Instead, it emerged from the archosaur lineage that eventually gave rise to modern crocodiles, animals now known for their four-legged stance and powerful tooth-filled jaws.
“In the Triassic, you can expect the unexpected,” researchers wrote, describing a prehistoric ecosystem filled with evolutionary oddities unlike anything alive today.
Lead author Alan Turner said the discovery highlights how different groups of animals independently evolved similar body plans, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution.
“Bipedalism is certainly a unique path for crocodile relatives to take, but it’s a path well-trod by dinosaurs and later birds,” Turner explained. “It obviously worked for these animals.”
Labrujasuchus closely resembled ornithomimosaurs, fast-running, ostrich-like dinosaurs from the later Cretaceous period, despite belonging to a completely different branch of the reptile family tree. Scientists say it is one of only five identified shuvosaurid species discovered so far.
The fossil was unearthed at Ghost Ranch, a famous Late Triassic fossil site known for preserving bizarre prehistoric creatures. The genus name combines “bruja,” the Spanish word for witch, referencing the area’s historic nickname “Ranchos de los Brujos” or “Ranch of the Witches,” with the Greek word “suchus,” meaning crocodile.
Researchers say the species helps fill an evolutionary gap between earlier and later shuvosaur discoveries from the region. The species name “expectatus” reflects how palaeontologists anticipated that an intermediate species was waiting to be found.
The Triassic period, which followed Earth’s greatest mass extinction, was marked by rapid evolutionary experimentation. Strange reptiles filled ecological roles later dominated by dinosaurs, birds and mammals.
Scientists believe understanding these extinct animals helps reveal how modern ecosystems evolved, and how species adapt to dramatic environmental change over time.
The discovery also marks two decades of collaborative excavations at Ghost Ranch, a site made globally famous through the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe and its rich fossil beds that continue to reshape understanding of prehistoric life.
Palaeontologists have uncovered a bizarre toothless reptile that looked strikingly like an ostrich-like dinosaur despite belonging to the ancient crocodile family tree, shedding new light on the wild evolutionary experiments of the Triassic era.
The newly described species, named Labrujasuchus expectatus, lived around 210 million years ago and belonged to a group of ancient crocodile relatives known as shuvosaurids. The discovery, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, reveals an animal that defied expectations: it walked on two legs, had tiny forelimbs, and possessed a completely toothless beak-like mouth.
Despite its bird-like appearance, researchers say the creature was not a dinosaur. Instead, it emerged from the archosaur lineage that eventually gave rise to modern crocodiles, animals now known for their four-legged stance and powerful tooth-filled jaws.
“In the Triassic, you can expect the unexpected,” researchers wrote, describing a prehistoric ecosystem filled with evolutionary oddities unlike anything alive today.
Lead author Alan Turner said the discovery highlights how different groups of animals independently evolved similar body plans, a phenomenon known as convergent evolution.
“Bipedalism is certainly a unique path for crocodile relatives to take, but it’s a path well-trod by dinosaurs and later birds,” Turner explained. “It obviously worked for these animals.”
Labrujasuchus closely resembled ornithomimosaurs, fast-running, ostrich-like dinosaurs from the later Cretaceous period, despite belonging to a completely different branch of the reptile family tree. Scientists say it is one of only five identified shuvosaurid species discovered so far.
The fossil was unearthed at Ghost Ranch, a famous Late Triassic fossil site known for preserving bizarre prehistoric creatures. The genus name combines “bruja,” the Spanish word for witch, referencing the area’s historic nickname “Ranchos de los Brujos” or “Ranch of the Witches,” with the Greek word “suchus,” meaning crocodile.
Researchers say the species helps fill an evolutionary gap between earlier and later shuvosaur discoveries from the region. The species name “expectatus” reflects how palaeontologists anticipated that an intermediate species was waiting to be found.
The Triassic period, which followed Earth’s greatest mass extinction, was marked by rapid evolutionary experimentation. Strange reptiles filled ecological roles later dominated by dinosaurs, birds and mammals.
Scientists believe understanding these extinct animals helps reveal how modern ecosystems evolved, and how species adapt to dramatic environmental change over time.
The discovery also marks two decades of collaborative excavations at Ghost Ranch, a site made globally famous through the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe and its rich fossil beds that continue to reshape understanding of prehistoric life.
