Dinosaurs and Crocodiles in Georgia

[MKIRKALDY <MKIRKALDY@aol.com>]

In an article in the current Fernbank Magazine (Fernbank MNH - 
Atlanta), Dr. David Schwimmer of Columbus State University talks
about "Georgia's Dinosaurs and Other Mesozoic Life."  The area 
which contains the fossils is western Georgia towards Alabama,
an area which represented the ocean shoreline of that time and
specifically the mouth of the Chattahoochee River.  Hadrosaurs
have been found (_Lophorhothon_ -- similar to _Kritosaurus_), 
pterosaurs, an ornithomimisaur leg bone (_Struthiomimus_?), 
and also _Albertosaurus_ (front and hind leg bones and a tooth).

Crocodiles were the ruling Georgians, though.  According to Dr.
Schwimmer, "Nowhere in the fossil record, or in the modern
world, has such an abundance of huge crocodiles been evident."
"...but, only in Georgia and neighboring Alabama were 25'-30'
crocodiles so common that they left hundreds of teeth, jaws,
backbones, and other remains."

Dr. Schwimmer speculates that the presence of these 
very efficient predators "prevented carnivorous dinosaurs from 
dominating the food chains of the nearshore environments."
There is a picture of vertebrae from _Deinosuchus rugosus_, 
though each is from a separate specimen.  Dr. Schwimmer
will be giving a talk on _Deinosuchus_ at Dinofest next
month.

Mary
mkirkaldy@aol.com