Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Crocodiles have been successful apex predators for hundreds of millions of years, but the larger clade they belong to, Pseudosuchia, is far more diverse than the semiaquatic ambush predator niche we’re used to. Crocodiles and their relatives have been terrestrial carnivores, fruit-eaters, armored nodosaur-like herbivores, and bipedal herbivores throughout their complex evolutionary history. This video explores the overall evolutionary history of Pseudosuchia, looking at the niches that they filled from the Triassic to today, as well as physiological adaptations that modern crocodilians developed to thrive. Crocodiles are famous for their ability to survive. They’ve cornered the market on semiaquatic apex predator niches for over two hundred million years now, and show no signs of letting other animals get close to replacing them. However, the idea that crocodiles are “living fossils” that haven’t changed since the first dinosaurs appeared is incredibly incorrect, and in the coolest way possible: yes, the group Pseudosuchia has been around since the early Triassic Period, but their ability to change and adapt to changing environments is what made them so successful, and allowed them to survive mass extinction after mass extinction. In this video we’ll cover the various forms that Pseudosuchia, the group that includes true crocodiles and their closest relatives, took on in order to thrive across hundreds of millions of years of competition and disaster. From elephant-sized, river-dwelling ambush predators to heavily armored, terrestrial herbivores, pseudosuchians developed some of the most extreme vertebrate fauna to exist on Planet Earth.
00:00: Crocodiles Are Broken, and Always Have Been
01:01: Semiaquatic Ambush Predators
04:07: Semiaquatic Piscivores and Fully Marine Predators
05:55: Potential Pets
06:16: Large Terrestrial Predators
09:18: Terrestrial Herbivores
10:33: Durophagous Pseudosuchians
11:04: Metabolism
12:45: Respiration
13:33: Cognition
15:42: Immune System and Longevity
17:57: Hunting Adaptations
Thumbnail art by Literally Miguel
Crocodiles have been successful apex predators for hundreds of millions of years, but the larger clade they belong to, Pseudosuchia, is far more diverse than the semiaquatic ambush predator niche we’re used to. Crocodiles and their relatives have been terrestrial carnivores, fruit-eaters, armored nodosaur-like herbivores, and bipedal herbivores throughout their complex evolutionary history. This video explores the overall evolutionary history of Pseudosuchia, looking at the niches that they filled from the Triassic to today, as well as physiological adaptations that modern crocodilians developed to thrive. Crocodiles are famous for their ability to survive. They’ve cornered the market on semiaquatic apex predator niches for over two hundred million years now, and show no signs of letting other animals get close to replacing them. However, the idea that crocodiles are “living fossils” that haven’t changed since the first dinosaurs appeared is incredibly incorrect, and in the coolest way possible: yes, the group Pseudosuchia has been around since the early Triassic Period, but their ability to change and adapt to changing environments is what made them so successful, and allowed them to survive mass extinction after mass extinction. In this video we’ll cover the various forms that Pseudosuchia, the group that includes true crocodiles and their closest relatives, took on in order to thrive across hundreds of millions of years of competition and disaster. From elephant-sized, river-dwelling ambush predators to heavily armored, terrestrial herbivores, pseudosuchians developed some of the most extreme vertebrate fauna to exist on Planet Earth.
00:00: Crocodiles Are Broken, and Always Have Been
01:01: Semiaquatic Ambush Predators
04:07: Semiaquatic Piscivores and Fully Marine Predators
05:55: Potential Pets
06:16: Large Terrestrial Predators
09:18: Terrestrial Herbivores
10:33: Durophagous Pseudosuchians
11:04: Metabolism
12:45: Respiration
13:33: Cognition
15:42: Immune System and Longevity
17:57: Hunting Adaptations
Thumbnail art by Literally Miguel
![Youve Created A Monster Broly [AMV]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dEkhENyiyPk/mqdefault.jpg "Youve Created A Monster Broly [AMV]
Broly AMV Dragon Ball Super: Song Youve Created A Monster by Bohnes.
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