Science Art: Anglosuchus, by James Erxleben, c. 1877.

Scientific illustration of fossilized crocodile skulls (Steneosaurus species) from England's Great Oolite deposit.
Scientific illustration of fossilized crocodile skulls (Steneosaurus species) from England's Great Oolite deposit.

These are the skulls of two English crocodiles. They were English before the first Anglo-Saxons arrived on that island’s shores. Of course, they also went extinct before the first humans stood up and winked at each other.

These skulls represent two species from “an extinct genus of pholidosaurid mesoeucrocodylian” (in other words, crocodile ancestors, or at least crocodile-shaped). Originally, the genus was called Steneosaurus, but it got changed to Anglosuchus because, well, for one thing, they’re not dinosaurs (no “saurus”) and for another, they’re English, thank you kindly. Most of the other Steneosaurs were actually French. Pre-Norman Conquest, don’t you know.

They all probably ate a fair number of dinosaurs.

They were cousins of dinosaurs, though. Is cousin-eating a tradition that’s been carried on?

At any rate, these two were Steneosaurus geoffroyi and Steneosaurus laticeps, as pictured in A History of British Fossil Reptiles by Richard Owen, published in 1877. The artist appears to be James Erxleben.

I found this in the Wikimedia Commons category Fossils from the Great Oolite.