Mystery of the 95 million year old tiny skull of an unprecedented crocodile species

New research by experts shows that a tiny 95-million-year-old skull found in Montana belongs to a completely new, never-before-recorded species of crocodile.

In 2021, researchers found fossils of a creature that is about 95 million years old in the Blackleaf strata in what is now southwestern Montana. Photo: Dane Johnson/Museum of the Rockies.

Experts named this fossil Elton. According to research, the Blackleaf geological layer dates back to the mid-Cretaceous period (145 million to 66 million years ago). Elton's fossil surprised experts because this creature was quite modest in size. The length from nose to tail tip was only 60 cm. Photo: Livescience.

"We had found dinosaurs in the Blackleaf strata before. It was the second known vertebrate we had ever found in this strata. It opened my eyes to the fascinating world of extinct prehistoric crocodiles and their evolutionary niches," said lead author Harrison Allen, a PhD student in paleontology at Stony Brook University in New York. Photo: Robert Nicholls.

Allen, a PhD student, found Elton's fossil while he was a student at the University of Montana. He discovered Elton's skull, just 5 centimeters long, buried in the rock. He then gave the specimen to University of Montana paleontology professor David Varricchio for examination. Photo: Jorge Gonzalez.

Professor Varricchio was fascinated by Elton's fossil. The "tiny" but well-preserved skull helped decipher the evolutionary history of the extinct crocodile. Photo: Matheus Fernandes.

According to the study, Elton belonged to an extinct family of crocodiles that was previously unknown to experts. The family is called Wannchampsidae, and belongs to the Neosuchia clade, which includes all modern crocodiles and their closest extinct relatives. Photo: Illustration by paleoartist Jorge González.

Members of the Neosuchia clade lived in North America during the Cretaceous period. The newly discovered crocodile was smaller than other Neosuchian crocodiles. If Elton had survived to adulthood, he would have been only about 90 cm long. Photo: Matt Herne.

Elton and other members of the newly discovered species, named Thikarisuchus xenodentes, possessed a range of differently shaped teeth, including sheathed canines and other specialized canines used for eating plants and insects. Photo: Neil Pezzoni/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0.

Based on the density of the bones, the team concluded that Elton and other members of the Thikarisuchus xenodentes species likely lived on land and burrowed underground. Photo: Gabriel Lio/Wikimedia Commons/CC BY 3.0.

Readers are invited to watch the video : Discovering many new species in the Mekong River Region. Source: THĐT1.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/bi-an-hop-so-ti-hon-95-trieu-nam-tuoi-cua-loai-ca-sau-chua-tung-thay-post2149057589.html