Snub-nosed alligator chomped on snails.

A STRANGE reptile fossil found 18 years ago has now been identified as an ancient alligator species that had an unusually short snout and may have feasted on snails. Using computerised tomography scans, the researchers compared the mystery skull with those of four extinct alligator species and seven living species, including American alligators (Alligator mississippiensis), Chinese alligators (Alligator sinensis) and spectacled caimans (Caiman crocodilus). Fossils of nearby species suggest the short-snouted alligator could have lived up to 200,000 years ago or as recently as a few thousand years ago. [Extracted from the article]