Pictures: Ancient"Cat Crocodile" Discovered

The newfound, cat-size crocodilePakasuchus kapilimai(illustrated) hadmammal-like teeth that helped give the fossil crocodile a power previously unknown amongreptiles: the ability to chew.

One key to that ability is that the 105-million-year-old crocodile's lower jaw could slide back and forth (inset).

"Crocodiles alive today don't have a major sliding component to their jaw,"said lead study authorPatrick O'Connor, an Ohio University paleontologist."It's just a hinged joint that allows the jaw to move up and down."

(Read the full story of the mammal-like crocodile.)

—with reporting by Ker Than

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