Sarcosuchus prehistoric crocodile. Computer illustration of a Sarcosuchus sp. crocodylian in a prehistoric forest. This distant relative of the crocodile lived during the Early Cretaceous Period (around 130 to 122 million years ago) in what is now Africa and South America. It is one of the largest crocodile-like reptiles that ever lived. Measuring up to 12 metres in length, it was almost twice as long as the modern saltwater crocodile.