Reptiles of Cenozoic Australia (Patreon)

Australia is very unique in that for basically the entire Cenozoic, reptiles were the dominant predators. The biggest a mammalian predator ever got was about the size of a large dog (Thylacoleo).

Quinkana was the longest-lived of these giant reptilian predators. It was a croc that walked around on land and eventually reached sizes around 20 ft in length. Though near the end of the Cenozoic, it finally had competition when Varanus priscus, which could possibly grow between 15-23 feet, arrived on the scene. As someone who thinks monitors have cute puppy faces and are also very cool, I am a big fan of Varanus priscus.

And you may wonder why I included giant birds in with these more traditional reptiles-- the word "reptile" isn't a very valid scientific term, since humans started grouping egg-laying scaly-skinned cold-blooded creatures together before understanding their evolutionary history. Crocs are actually pretty far from lizards and snakes on the family tree, and are much closer to birds (since crocs are a sister group to pterosaurs and dinosaurs). And turtles go who-knows-where, they could be closer to crocs or in their own little far-off clade very far away from all the other traditional "reptiles". Therefore, the definition of "reptile" has to widen!

I tend to use "reptile" interchangeably with "diapsids", since it's a more easily recognizeable term. That way, all diapsids, including crocs, turtles, lizards and snakes, and dinosaurs (aka birds) are all reptiles.

I hope that wasn't too confusing!! Thank you all for supporting my work, and I hope you have a lovely day--

-Abby