Sphenosuchus acutus

Name: Sphenosuchus acutus [The sharp wedge-crocodile]

When: Early Jurassic Period, about 195 million years ago

Where: Paballon, Mount Fletcher, East Cape Province, South Africa

Claim to fame: Sphenosuchus is the classic example of "sphenosuchians," the distant relatives of crocodylians at the dawn of the age of dinosaurs. Unlike their modern relatives, these were small, long-legged, probably fast-running animals that inhabited dry-land forests. We have known the fossils of Sphenosuchus for over a century, but sadly, although its remains feature a well-preserved skull, little of the rest of its body was preserved. More recent discoveries of related sphenosuchians like Terrestrisuchus taught us about their slender long-legged build. Of course, their bodies that seem to be built for running lead us to suspect that they were warm-blooded, or nearly so.

Sphenosuchians were small. In fact, Sphenosuchus' 19 cm skull makes it a large one. Despite its length, the skull of Sphenosuchus doesn't really look like a croc's, with its tall narrow snout, but its strongly overhanging rear corners are definitely a feature it shares with modern crocs.

About the piece: This was one of the first representations I ever made of a life-sized prehistoric animal in stoneware. At the time I was convulsed by the novelty of the whole thing, and I was pleased that the finished piece actually held liquids without leaks, but when I look at it now, it seems naive. Why did I lavish attention on the animal's bony scutes but completely neglect to give the skin of its face any kind of texture? I guess I was in a hurry to see if it would work. The cats-eye pupils are based on the eyes of living crocodylians, but it does look like I was channeling my inner 13 year old. Finally, although the piece is fully functional, it's on the large side. Don't fill it with brew unless your plan is actually to get drunk.

On a technical note, although the scary teeth look kind of cool, more recent research suggests that most prehistoric reptiles, even croc relatives, kept their teeth tucked behind proper lips.

The piece now belongs to a private collection.