AGE:
Late Cretaceous (Santonian), Bayn Shireh Formation, 85 million years old

SIZE:
Skull about half a metre long

MEANING OF NAME:
"Crocodile from Shamo"; Shamo is an ancient name of the Gobi desert

PRONOUCIATION:
Sham-oh-SUK-us

CLASSIFICATION:
CROCODYLIA: Mesosuchia; Paralligatoridae

The skull of this primitive crocodilian (a mesosuchian, a group more primitive than living crocodiles) had teeth specialised for crushing its prey rather than piercing it. Perhaps this was an adaptation for eating molluscs, clams and snails and the like. This genus persisted in Mongolia until the end of the Cretaceous, the time when the dinosaurs became extinct.