SHELL, WY - A very small town in Northwest Wyoming is now home to the largest crocodile that ever lived. Imagine a 10-ton reptile, with a five foot long mouth. It can be found in Shell, Wyoming. Unless you knew it was there, you might not expect to find dinosaurs near a little cafe called Dirty Annies near Shell Wyoming.
Scientists from all over the world have been coming to the farming community at the base of the Big Horn's since 1934, when spectacular fossils were found at the Howell ranch nearby. The cafe owner, Jim Mclaughlin is helping the community and paleontologists who want to build a dinosaur museum in Shell. McLauchlan told KULR 8 they are still trying to raise the money, "We've got a long way to go." In the meantime, museum promoters put replicas of Wyoming fossils on display. And now, they've displayed a replica of a fossil from Niger, Africa. It's Sarcosuchus Imperator, or Super Croc. With a mouth big enough to swallow a man whole, a probable length of 40 feet, and a probable weight of ten tons, it is the largest crocodile to ever walk the earth.
McLaughlin quotes the paleontogilists, "They say that this guy didn't live with the dinosaurs, it ate the dinosaurs." In a National Geographic special, Dr. Sereno, is shown discovering the Super Croc years ago. McLaughlin says Sereno is one of about 20 paleontologists who come to Shell each summer to dig for fossils. He told KULR 8, "He brought it to Chicago University, but he works out here in Shell and that with a lot of volunteer work for charity groups."
Sereno sent his super croc display to the Quanset Hut next to Dirty Annies, for anyone to see. People call the Quanset Hut the Dino Holiday Inn, and it's open from 6 to 9 p.m. every day until October 28th. The admission is free. Shell is on U.S. Highway 14, a few miles outside Greybull, Wyoming.