Last week paleontologists announced their conclusions after analyzing pieces of 79-million-year-old fossilized dung, or coprolites, that appear to be the first known droppings from Deinosuchus­. The discoveries offer the newest insights into the lives of the giant crocs, which roamed much of what is now the United States and northern Mexico.

Sand and shell fragments in the droppings, found within the last few years near a Georgia stream, suggest the croc preferred estuaries, where, at least in the Georgia—home to a great concentration of Deinosuchus remains—it probably dined mostly on sea turtles, researchers say.

Despite the Georgia Deinosuchus­'s relatively docile prey, "we're pretty sure it was the apex predator in this region," said Samantha Harrell, an undergraduate at