You are in the riverbanks of South America, 10 million years ago.

The air was thick, smelling of wet clay and decay. You were navigating a canoe through a sluggish, murky channel of the ancient Pebas river system. Your attention was fixed on a large, turtle-like Stupendemys basking in the mud, when a sudden, low vibration rippled through the water, shattering the stillness.

At first, you didn't see the predator—only the Stupendemys diving panicked into the water. Then, a massive snout, slender yet frighteningly long and reaching roughly 33 feet in total length, broke the surface. It was a Gryposuchus.

Its jaws were a bizarre hybrid of a modern gharial’s narrow snout and a massive crocodile's robust structure, lined with sharp, needle-like teeth perfectly adapted for catching the large fish that filled this prehistoric river. It didn’t ambush like the broad-snouted Purussaurus might have; it simply swam with a terrifying, smooth efficiency, its armored back appearing like a submerged log.

Its eyes, cold and intelligent, focused on you…