University of Queensland researchers have used state-of-the-art technology to reveal previously unknown details about the prehistoricTrilophosuchus rackhami's anatomy.

Faculty of Science PhD candidate, Jorgo Ristevski said it is the most detailed examination ever undertaken of the skull anatomy of an extinct croc from Australia.

"By micro-CT scanning the beautifully preserved skull, we were able to digitally separate each bone," Mr Ristevski said.

"We estimated that at adulthood,Trilophosuchus rackhamiwould have been between 70 and 90 centimetres long and weigh one to two kilograms, which was very small compared to most present-day crocs.

"This was a truly unique looking croc, with a short snout and three distinct ridges on the top of its skull."

Trilophosuchusrackhamimeans Rackham's three-crested croc, which was named in 1993 in honour of Alan Rackham, who now manages the Riversleigh Fossil Discovery Centre at Mt Isa.

Mr Ristevski said palaeoneurology, a field that studies the brain and nervous system of fossil species, can provide crucial insights into the animal's evolution, morphology and even behaviour.

"For one of the studies, I digitally reconstructed the brain cavity ofTrilophosuchus rackhamiand found that it resembles that of some distantly related and potentially terrestrial extinct crocs from Africa and South America," Mr Ristevski said.

"We were quite surprised to find this because evolutionarily speaking,Trilophosuchus rackhamiis more closely related to today's crocs.

"This may indicate thatTrilophosuchus rackhamispent more time on land than most living crocs."

Ristevski先生说,这一发现将useful in interpreting the evolutionary relationships of extinct crocs, something that will be researched in the future.

Ste副教授ve Salisbury said up until very recently, Australia had an amazing diversity of prehistoric crocs.

"Trilophosuchus rackhamiwas certainly one of the cutest," he said.

"If we could travel back in time to north Queensland 13 million years ago, not only would you need to watch out for crocodiles at the water's edge, but you'd also have to make sure you didn't step on them in the forest."

The research was published inThe Anatomical RecordandThe Journal of Anatomy.