A newly named crocodile species may have lived in Ethiopia at the same time as Lucy and dominated the wetlands of the Hadar region more than 3 million years ago. More than 3 million years ago, when early human relatives such as the famous Lucy roamed the African continent, they likely shared the same world with a fearsome crocodile. This crocodile has a prominent ridge on its snout and lurks in rivers and lakes, waiting for approaching animals.
A research team led by the University of Iowa has identified the crocodile as a new species. In a study published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology, researchers named it "Crocodylus lucivenator," which means "Lucy's predator." The name very aptly reflects the environment in which the animal lives. This ancient reptile lived in Ethiopia about 3.4 million to 3 million years ago, at the same time and in the same area as Lucy and her Australopithecus afarensis species. Lucy's skeletal fossil was discovered in 1974, which was significant because it was the oldest and most complete early human ancestor or close relative ever found. It also reinforces evidence that bipedalism preceded increases in brain size during human evolution.
The newly described crocodile is about 12 to 15 feet long and weighs between 600 and 1,300 pounds as an adult. It was the top predator in the ecosystem at the time and the only crocodile species known in the area. The area is a mixed landscape of scrubland and wetland, with trees growing along the river. Researchers describe it as an ambush predator that hides underwater and prepares to attack animals that come to drink.
"It was the largest predator in that ecosystem, more threatening than lions and hyenas, and was the greatest threat our ancestors faced when they lived there," said Christopher Brocciu, a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Iowa and corresponding author of the study. "This crocodile almost certainly hunted Lucy's species. While we will never know whether a particular crocodile was trying to capture Lucy, it would have thought, 'Here's dinner' when it saw a creature like Lucy."
Brocho has been studying ancient crocodiles for 35 years. He first examined these "Lucy the Predator" specimens in 2016 at a museum in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. "I was just blown away because it had such a strange combination of features," Brochu recalls. One of the most striking features of this animal is a large bulge in the center of its snout. Similar structures are present in American crocodiles but not in Africa's Nile crocodiles. Researchers believe male crocodiles may use this hump to attract mates. "This behavior can be seen in some modern crocodiles," Brocciu said. "The male will lower his head slightly to show it to the female."
The researchers also report that Lucy Predator's snout extended further forward from the nostrils than other crocodiles of the same period, making it more similar to the elongated snout of modern crocodiles.
The researchers studied 121 cataloged fossils, mostly skull, tooth and jaw fragments, representing dozens of individuals. The remains came from the Hadar site in Ethiopia's Afar region, which has long been known for discoveries related to early human history, including Lucy and her close relatives. Hadar was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
Most of the fossils are fragments, requiring the team to reconstruct the broader anatomy from the incomplete fragments. However, one specimen preserved several partially healed jaw injuries, suggesting that the crocodile had fought with its own kind. "The fossil record preserves similar scars in extinct taxa, so this face-biting behavior can be found throughout the alligator family tree," said Stephanie Drumheller, a teaching associate professor at the University of Tennessee who earned her PhD from the University of Iowa. "We have no way of knowing which side had the upper hand in that fight, but the healing marks tell us that whether it was the winner or the loser, the animal survived that encounter."
There are at least three other crocodile species living further south in the Rift Valley, but Lucy the Trapper appears to have occupied the Hadar region alone. "During the Pliocene, Hadar consisted of a variety of habitats surrounding its lake and river systems that varied through time and space, including open and closed woodlands, riparian forests, wet grasslands, and scrubland," said study co-author Christopher Campisano, associate professor in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change at ASU. "Interestingly, this crocodile is one of the few species that has persisted throughout this entire period."
The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, the Leakey Foundation, the University of Iowa Office of International Programs, and the University of Iowa College of Arts and Sciences. The research paper was published in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology on March 11, 2026.