Based on the coarse-grained rocks in which remains were found, Koolasuchus likely lived in fast-moving streams. During this time the area was below the Antarctic Circle, and temperatures were relatively cool for the Mesozoic. Koolasuchus inhabited rift valleys in southern Australia during the Early Cretaceous. cleelandi is named after geologist Mike Cleeland. The name is also a pun on the word "cool" in reference to the cold climate of its environment. Koolasuchus was named for the palaeontologist Lesley Kool. A partial skull is also known but has not been fully prepared. Later specimens were found in 1989 on the nearby Rowell's Beach. A jawbone was found in 1978 in a fossil site known as the Punch Bowl near the town of San Remo. It is known from four fragments of the lower jaw and several postcranial bones, including ribs, vertebrae, a fibula, and parts of the pectoral girdle. Koolasuchus was named in 1997 from the Aptian Strzelecki Group of the Wonthaggi Formation in Victoria. Like other chigutisaurids, it had a wide, rounded head and tabular horns projecting from the backside of the skull. Although represented by incomplete material, the skull was likely 65 centimetres (26 in) long. Its mass has been estimated to be up to 500 kilograms (1,100 lb). Koolasuchus was an aquatic temnospondyl estimated to have been around 4 to 5 metres (13 to 16 ft) in length. Restoration of Koolasuchus preying on Leaellynasaura
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