Meet the duck-faced predators that roamed the Cretaceous deserts of North Africa

Nature · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: During the Late Cretaceous, a bizarre family of crocodylomorphs known as Stomatosuchidae prowled Egypt, Morocco, and Niger. These ancient reptiles possessed uniquely flattened, duck-shaped skulls and U-shaped jaws. Despite their strange appearance, they remain some of the most enigmatic creatures in the fossil record, with much of their history lost.

Stomatosuchidae represents an extinct clade of neosuchian crocodylomorphs that thrived during the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous. These animals are defined by their platyrostral condition, characterized by an unusually flat and elongated cranium. While their duck-like facial structure bears a superficial resemblance to the Miocene-era alligatoroid Mourasuchus, the two groups are not closely related. Stomatosuchids can be distinguished by their less bowed jaws, a rounded glenoid, and a straight retroarticular process, which contrasts with the dorsally curving structures found in other crocodylians.

The family consists of two primary genera: Stomatosuchus and Laganosuchus. The latter is the only genus with existing specimens, represented by two species: L. thaumastos from the Echkar Formation in Niger and L. maghrebensis from the Kem Kem Beds in Morocco. These fossils have provided paleontologists with the most reliable data on the group's anatomy, helping to clarify the distinct evolutionary path these predators took compared to their contemporaries.

In contrast, the type genus Stomatosuchus remains shrouded in mystery. It was originally described based on a single holotype skull discovered in the Bahariya Formation of Egypt. Tragically, this specimen was destroyed during the bombing of the Munich Museum in World War II. Because no further material has been recovered since the initial accounts by Ernst Stromer and Franz Nopcsa in 1926, the genus remains largely enigmatic. Furthermore, while Aegyptosuchus was once classified as a stomatosuchid, it has since been reassigned to its own distinct family, Aegyptosuchidae, further narrowing our understanding of this unique lineage.

The study of these creatures highlights the fragility of our knowledge regarding prehistoric life. With the loss of the primary Stomatosuchus specimen, researchers are left to rely on historical records, making the discovery of new Laganosuchus material essential for piecing together the ecological role these flat-skulled predators played in the Cretaceous landscape. Their existence serves as a reminder of the extreme morphological diversity that once defined the crocodylomorph family tree.

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