Re-examination of a central Australian fossil has been discovered to be an extinct unknown crocodile species that most probably preyed on animals with equally formidable size.
Over 10 years ago, 8-million-year-old bones of several crocodiles, including a skull was found at the Alcoota fossil site, central Australia roughly 125 miles front he Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. The now parched region was once able to support populations of large crocodiles since it features fresh pools of water and rushing rivers.
Encountering Extinct Crocodile Bones
Originally, when paleontologists discovered the bones they were labeled as fossils of an extinct crocodile genus known as Baru. However, recently through investigation, it is revealed that the bones belonged to an entitled unknown species of the Baru crocodiles.
The scientific paper describing and naming the recently re-classified species is in the works, and should be published in early 2022 according to Adam Yates, senior curator at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory explained.
Crocodiles living in Australia are part of the genus Crocodylus and are believed to have arrived in the continent from Africa in the last few million years. Baru, however, belongs to an ancient crocodile group known as Mekosuchinae, which are now extinct dating back to roughly 45 million years ago.
The interesting fact is that the recently re-examined fossils date back to about 8 million years in the past, placing them as the most recent Baru crocodiles on the Australian continent. The soon-to-be-named crocodile species is said to have lived during the late Miocene era from 12 million to 5 million years in the past.
The Life of the Soon-to-be-Named Baru Species
A large skull fossil found at Alcoota is a prized fossil that will be the holotype specimen. Dozens of various bounds were found, including those that belonged to juvenile and adult crocodiles. Yates explains that this discovery makes the new Baru species may be the best known of all fossil crocodiles in Australia.
Comparative anatomy and modern phylogenetic techniques allowed the researchers to place the newly identified crocodile species within the crocodiles' family tree. Yates further explains that the characteristic features of the new Baru species are its relatively large teeth and extreme robusticity.
Its large teeth equate to a more crowded jaw compared to its closest relatives that have fewer teeth. The largest bones found to suggest that full-grown crocodiles could frow up to 13.1 to more than 14 feet in length. Despite its large size, it isn't record-breaking for crocodiles. Its robustness and the large size of its muscles suggest that it's a heavier-bodied animal compared to modern-day saltwater crocodiles of the same length.
Its heavy, thick, and deep jaws lead researchers to suspect that the soon-to-be-named reptile preyed on large animals including flightless birds known as Dromornis stirtoni that can stand up to 9.8 feet and weigh roughly 1,400 pounds and was previously found in context with other Baru crocodiles.
The newly re-examined species could shed light on environmental conditions in central Australia during the Late Miocene era and why the species and its entire genus eventually became extinct.
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