Baru

Baru is an extinct genus of Australian mekosuchine crocodilian. It's fossils have been found from various Late Oligocene and Miocene localities from across the Northern Territory and Queensland, indicating that Baru was a common species during the late Paleogene and early Neogene. Two species are currently recognized, B. wickeni and B. darrowi, with a third undescribed species also being known. Baru was a large and powerfull mekosuchine with an incredibly deep and robust skull and long, blade-like teeth that in the case of Baru darrowi are furthermore adorned with minute serrations. At a length of around , it was among the largest crocodilians native to Australia at the time and the largest predator of its ecosystem. With dorsally oriented nostrils and eyes and a poor range of head movement, as well as its fossils being associated with freshwater environments, Baru is generally interpreted to have been a semi-aquatic ambush hunter, spending much of its day submerged in water waiting for prey. While the skull of Baru broadly resembles that of modern crocodiles, its much more robust morphology suggests that it hunted somewhat differently. Willis and colleagues suggest that it inhabited shallower waters that were not suited to drown potential prey items as done by today's crocodiles. Instead, it may have relied on its powerful bite and blade-like teeth to quickly incapacite its prey, minimalizing the risk of it escaping during the ensuing struggle in the shallow waters. The bite of Baru is thought to have been powerful enough to take out even large mammals up to a weight of and even other crocodilians, which were abundant in the environments Baru inhabited. Baru is among the first mekosuchines to have been described, with B. darrowi being named in 1990 on the basis of various fossils found in the Northern Territory and Queensland. The holotype, a partial rostrum, was collected from the Bullock Creek Local Fauna in the Northern Territory, with paratypes having been collected from Queensland's Riversleigh World Heritage Area.