SMU Terminonaris: New Native Texan (VIDEO) Southern Methodist University This video is under embargo. Please login to access this video. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video Caption Making its first appearance in Texas, a prehistoric crocodile thought to have originated in Europe now appears to have been a native of the Lone Star State. The switch in origins for the genus known as Terminonaris is based on the identification of a rare, well-preserved, narrow fossil snout that was discovered along the shoreline of a lake near Dallas. The first of its kind ever discovered in Texas, the new Terminonaris while alive easily weighed a ton and was as much as 25 feet long, says paleontologist Thomas L. Adams at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, who identified the reptile. The 96-million-year-old fossil from Texas is the oldest prehistoric crocodile of its kind in the world, Adams said. See www.smuresearch.com for more information. High resolution video available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHS6vE4o3XY. Credit Southern Methodist University Usage Restrictions Please credit. Thanks! License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.