February 1, 2008An artist's rendering depicts the newly discovered prehistoric crocodile Montealtosuchus arrudacamposi.

Paleontologists at Federal University in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, say the land-bound reptile is a possible ''missing link'' to modern-day crocodiles.

"This is scientifically important because the specimen literally is the link between more primitive crocodiles that lived in the era of the dinosaurs—80 million to 85 million years ago—and modern species," said paleontologist Ismar de Souza Carvalho at a press conference yesterday.

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