News & Views
New insights into crocodile evolution
The partial fossilised remains of a teleosauroid unearthed in the area of Holzmaden, Germany. Note the relatively narrow snout, which suggests a diet based on fish.
Photo courtesy Urwelt-Museum Hauff Holzmaden/Wikipedia/CC BY-SA3.0.
The teleosauroid known as Macrospondylus bollensis, which lived in the Jurassic, about 185 million years. This fossil was also obtained from Holzmaden in Germany.
Photo courtesy Didier Descouens/Wikipedia/ CC BY-SA 4.0.
Scientists probing a prehistoric crocodile group’s shadowy past have discovered a timeless truth – pore over any family tree long enough, and something surprising will emerge. Despite 300 years of research, and a recent renaissance in the study of their biological make-up, the mysterious, marauding teleosauroids have remained enduringly elusive.
Scientific understanding of this distant cousin of present day long snouted gharials has been hampered by a poor grasp of their evolutionary journey – until now.