This Armored Ancestor Of Modern Crocodiles Roamed Earth Over 200 Million Years Ago
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Researchers from the University of Texas (UT) Austin recently announced the discovery of a new aetosaur species. These prehistoric relatives of modern crocodiles, which ruled the world before dinosaurs, came in many shapes and sizes. The heavily armored creatures went extinct around 200 million years ago. However, their fossils can still be found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.
Paleontologist Bill Mueller unearthed the newfound species in Garza County, Texas, in 1989. The fossil was added to the collection at Texas Tech University, where it remained for nearly three decades. The fossil received renewed attention when William Reyes, a doctoral student at UT Austin, discovered it during a visit.
Reyes was drawn to the unusually large and well-preserved dorsal carapace, or back armor. Scientists rely on the bony plates that make up aetosaur armor to identify different species. But there are usually limited fossil skeletons to study. However, this specimen was almost 70 percent intact, covering each major region of the body.
"We have elements from the back of the neck and shoulder region all the way to the tip of the tail," said Reyes. "Usually, you find very limited material."
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Reyes and his colleagues named the ancient reptile Garzapelta muelleri. The genus name combines "Garza" from Garza County, where it was found, with "pelta," meaning "shield" in Latin. The species name honors Mueller, who passed away in 2019.
The researchers revealed their findings on March 14, 2024. They believe that the stocky-limbed G. muelleri was a medium-sized aetosaur. It had several unusual features, including a unique arrangement of bony plates that formed bumps and ridges on its skeleton. The reptile's sides were covered with curved spikes, offering another layer of protection from predators. The spikes were similar, but not identical, to those found on another aetosaur species. This led the UT Austin team to conclude that G. muelleri was an entirely new species of aetosaur.
Resources: Livescience.com, scinews.com, utexas.edu
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34 Comments
- miloseeznewz4 monthsTHAT was where a crocodile came from!?
- hinavonetugu4 monthsSo cool!🦄
- isaiah5104 monthsthat means crocodiles lived over millions of years like sharks
- mizilygovyli4 monthsI think that it is this is awesome that scientists were able to find out that the Garzapelta muelleri was an ancestor of the crocodile by only using the bones.
- queertoad3 monthsI know, it's so incredibly amazing!!!
- basysulapani4 monthsHow interesting!
- mward184 monthsSo awesome
- victoria_wise4 monthsWow! This is so surprising!
- 10cstrong4 monthsso cool :0
- marinelover4 monthsOH WOW!
- mizilygovyli4 monthsI think that this article is awesome .I think this because a colleague student was able to figure out that the bones belonged to the ancestor of the Crocodile.
- tedykelunejo4 monthsWow, that amazing!