# Was there a prehistoric crocodile with nostrils on its head / a horn on its nose? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-prehistoric-crocodile-with-nostrils-on-its-head-a-horn-on-its-nose/938451 "2021-03-22T19:44:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-prehistoric-crocodile-with-nostrils-on-its-head-a-horn-on-its-nose/938451/1 "2021-03-22T19:44:04Z")
I remember years ago when my grade 4 class did a unit on dinosaurs. From the books we had in class about the topic, I remember illustrations of two prehistoric crocodiles. The way I remember them, one of them was depicted as having nostrils on top of its head instead of on the tip of its nose; I remember the other, which as I recall was said to have been about 15 feet long (and may have been an illustration of the same species as the first) as having a rhino-like horn on its nose. Did I misinterpret these pictures or do they reflect the artist’s knowledge of certain fossils - and if so, would this knowledge be maintained today? Were there really prehistoric crocodiles which are believed to have had breathing holes on their head or even a “rhino” horn on their nose? I have googled around for something like this, but haven’t found anything satisfactory. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-prehistoric-crocodile-with-nostrils-on-its-head-a-horn-on-its-nose/938451/2 "2021-03-22T19:47:31Z")
Iguanadon used to be portrayed with a horn on its head or snout (the structure was later realised to be a spike on the forelimb of the creature) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-prehistoric-crocodile-with-nostrils-on-its-head-a-horn-on-its-nose/938451/3 "2021-03-22T20:21:20Z")
This is Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ early attempt to reconstruct an iguanodon. [Is this it?](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iguanodon#/media/File:Mantellodon_in_Crystal_Palace_Park.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-prehistoric-crocodile-with-nostrils-on-its-head-a-horn-on-its-nose/938451/4 "2021-03-22T21:25:48Z")
Possibly [phytosaurs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytosaur), which were primitive crocodile-shaped reptiles. They have long snouts but the nostrils emerged at the head bump near the eyes, but while some of them had prominent ridges, none had distinct horns. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [March 22, 2021, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-prehistoric-crocodile-with-nostrils-on-its-head-a-horn-on-its-nose/938451/5 "2021-03-22T22:05:59Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > This is Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins’ early attempt to reconstruct an iguanodon. [Is this it?] I don’t think it was an iguanodon. Perhaps I misremembered the horn on the nose or mistook something else for one. The creature I remember was distinctly like a giant monster crocodile. > [@Banksiaman](#): > > Possibly [phytosaurs](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytosaur), which were primitive crocodile-shaped reptiles. They have long snouts but the nostrils emerged at the head bump near the eyes… This is most probably it. ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2021, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/was-there-a-prehistoric-crocodile-with-nostrils-on-its-head-a-horn-on-its-nose/938451/6 "2021-03-23T10:46:09Z")
A number of Alligators had dummy horns attached to them, cosmetically, for shoddy 50ds/60s sci-fi flicks, to _pose as_ Dinosaurs.