Purussaurus, the giant caiman
A crocodilian over ten metres long dominates the Amazonian wetlands.
- When
- —
- Duration
- 1 million years
- Known to
- ± 1 million years
- Era
- Miocene, Cenozoic
Purussaurus is a caiman reaching perhaps 10 to 12 metres and several tonnes, with a bite force estimated among the strongest of any animal ever measured. It lived in the Pebas and Acre wetlands alongside a dozen other crocodilian species partitioned by diet — some eating fish, some molluscs, some large mammals. The assemblage has no modern equivalent and disappears when the wetland drains and the Amazon river system takes its place.