A huge armored crocodile cousin with plates embedded in its skin and curved spikes along its flanks roamed our planet 215 million years ago, scientists reveal.
The newfound species, discovered in the Cooper Canyon Formation in northwestern Texas, was an aetosaur. These stout-limbed beasts grew up to 16 feet (5 meters) long and were covered in bony plates called osteoderms for protection. They were "tanks of the Triassic," according to a statement released by The University of Texas at Austin.
