1. SUPER CROC and A VERY OLD FISH

2. VOCABULARY

3. ancient
very old
existed in the past

4. hopeful
full of hope
look forward to

5. not able to do something
unable
not able to do something
no ability

6. confirm
make sure
no doubt

7. valid
supported by fact

8. A VERY OLD FISH The coelacanth (SEE-luh-kanth) is an
ancient fish. It lived about million
years ago. People first learned about
the coelacanth by studying its fossils.
Fossils are the shapes or remains left
behind by something that lived a long
time ago.

9. Coelacanth

10. People believed that the coelacanths
died millions of years ago. But in 1938,
a fisherman caught a coelacanth near
Madagascar.

11. Since then more have been caught. Now scientists are hopeful they can
protect coelacanths.
They believe they can help because the
scientists have learned more about the
fish. Coelacanths are unable to live in
the warm water near the top of the
ocean. They can only live deep
underwater.

12. BOY FINDS FOSSILS In 1999, twelve-year-old Miguel Avelas
amazed scientists all over the world.
Miguel discovered hundreds of fossils
in Patagonia, in the southern part
of South America.

13. Miguel led a team of scientists to the
fossils. The scientists guessed the
fossils were from a lizard.
The scientists studied the fossils and
were able to confirm that their idea
was correct.

14. The fossils gave them valid information
that this lizard had lived more than
120 million years ago.
Now they had proof that it had lived in
Patagonia. Miguel’s discovery gave the
scientists important new information.

16. MEET THE
SUPER
CROC

18. Did a crocodile the size of a school bus once live on Earth?

19. What kind of animal was it? Its body was about 40 feet long.
That’s about the size of a school
bus. Its jaws were about 5 feet
long. That’s about as long as
some people are tall! It had
about teeth.

20. Name: Sarcosuchus Imperator (Super Croc) Length: Up to 50 feet
Weight: About 17,500 pounds
Lived: About million years ago

21. This powerful creature hid in the water,
waiting for an animal to come to the
river for a drink. Any animal that was
grabbed by those teeth would be
unable to get away.

22. Don’t worry. This toothy giant is no
longer alive today. It lived about
million years ago, when dinosaurs
roamed the Earth. That’s about
million years before human
beings were around.

23. American Alligator
Length: Up to 20 feet
Weight: about 1,300 pounds
Lives: Alive today

24. Australian Crocodile
Length: Up to 23 feet
Weight: About 2,000 pounds
Lives: Alive today

25. Paul Sereno, a scientist, was the leader
of a team of scientists who found the
bones of the animal.
They discovered
them in Niger,
a country in Africa.

26. Sereno and his team were hopeful the bones belonged to a kind of giant
crocodile from the time of the
dinosaurs. But they weren’t sure.
The whole team needed to study the
bones before they could confirm
their theory.

28. They compared the bones to the bodies of crocodiles living today.
If the bones were similar, the theory
would be valid.

29. The shape of the head and skull bones gave Sereno and his team the
proof they were looking for. The
ancient bones belonged to a
“Super Croc” that lived at the same
time the dinosaurs lived on the Earth.

30. Sereno made copies of the bones to
keep in the United States. The original
bones were sent back to the country
of Niger. If you want to see the real
“Super Croc,” the bones are on display
in the museum there.