Cretaceous Crocodile Dermal Scute - Montana

This is a nicely preserved fossil dermal scute of a 66 million year old crocodilian of the species Leidyosuchus formidabilis. It comes from the Hell Creek formation in Montana, the same formation famous for T-Rex. The scute itself is in great shape and just about an inch square.

Dermal scutes are bony plates, the underly the scales on crocodiles.