What is Deinosuchus?
{{italictitle}} {{Taxobox | name = ''Deinosuchus'' | image = Deinosuchus hatcheri - Natural History Museum of Utah - DSC07251.JPG | image_caption = Reconstructed skeleton at the Natural History Museum of Utah | fossil_range = [[Upper Cretaceous]] | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | classis = [[Sauropsida]] | infraclassis = [[Archosauria]] | ordo = [[Crocodilia]] | subordo = [[Eusuchia]] | superfamilia = [[Alligatoroidea]] | genus = [[extinction|†]]'''''Deinosuchus''''' | genus_authority = [[William Jacob Holland|Holland]], 1909}} [[Image:1954-Colbert-Bird-Phobosuchus.png|thumb|This skull reconstruction, exhibited at the [[American Museum of Natural History]] for nearly a half-century, is probably the best known of all ''Deinosuchus'' fossils. The darker shaded portions are actual fossil bone, while the light portions are plaster]] '''''Deinosuchus''''' is an [[extinct]] relative of the [[alligator]] which lived 80 to 73 million years ago, in the [[Upper Cretaceous]] [[Period (geology)|period]]. The first remains were discovered in [[North Carolina]] in the 1850s, but it was not until 1909 that the [[genus]] was named and described. Additional fragments were discovered in the 1940s and were later made into an influential, but inaccurate, skull reconstruction at the [[American Museum of Natural History]]. Knowledge of ''Deinosuchus'' is still incomplete, but better [[skull]] material has been found in recent years. ''Deinosuchus'' was far larger than any modern crocodile or alligator: it was up to {{Convert|10.6|m|ft|sigfig=2|abbr=on}} and weighed up to {{convert|4.3|MT|ST}}. However, its overall appearance was fairly similar to its modern relatives. It had large, robust teeth that were [[adapted]] to crushing, and its back was covered with thick round bony plates. One study suggests that ''Deinosuchus'' may have lived for up to 50&nbsp;years, growing at a similar rate to that of modern crocodilians, but growing for a much longer period. ''Deinosuchus'' fossils have been found in ten [[U.S. state]]s, as well as nort