Raw-ih-soo-kee-uns

(Learn about the animal species that existed in North Carolina before the dinosaurs.) Before the dinosaurs roamed the earth, there was another species of animal that thrived. These animals were called Rauisuchians. There have been some skeletal bones of this species found in a brick quarry (where bricks are mined) in North Carolina.

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Rauisuchians lived 221 million years ago. These animals were the top predators of this time; just like the T-Rex was when the dinosaurs came along later. Weighing one ton (2000lbs), walking on all fours, and being 10 feet long gave Rauisuchians the look of a giant lizard.

The Zatomus is one type of Rauisuchian. Its fossils have been found in North Carolina and it is thought to have lived between 208 to 225 million years ago. The Zatomus was a large meat-eating reptile known for its blade- like teeth.

Approximately 112 million years ago and 45 million years before the T- Rex walked the earth, there was an animal named Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, nick­ named "Terror of the South." The "Terror" was a meat eater that stood 13 feet tall. It ate plant eaters and lived on the coastal plains of the southeastern United States, including North Carolina. The Acrocanthosaurus atokensis would attack its prey from the rear, lunging at it with razor- sharp teeth. After the flesh was ripped, the Acrocanthosaurus atokensis would wait for its prey to bleed to death.

The Hypsibema was a duck- billed, plant-eating Rauisuchian that also lived in North Carolina 73 to 83 million years ago.

Bones have been found from the Hypsibema in the state of North Carolina. Bones have also been found from an Ornithomimus, which was ostrich-like in appearance, and a Dryptosaurus, which was a medium-sized predator.

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