RALEIGH, N.C. — A newly-discovered crocodile relative from 230 million years ago earned the nickname "Carolina Butcher," ABC News reported.
Researchers at North Carolina State University and the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences said the 9-foot animal lived in the wet, warm region of super-continent Pangea, which is now North Carolina.
The Carolina Butcher lived on land and likely ate smaller pretty, including armored relatives and early mammal relatives, researchers told ABC News.
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Broken pieces of the crocodile's skull, spine and leg were found in the Pekin Formation in Chatham County, and a 3-D model of the animal was created.
The Carolina Butcher's reign of terror didn't last long, according to researchers. It was killed off as the Triassic period came to an end, making way for even more terrifying predatory dinosaurs.
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