Fossil discovery of “hybrid” between ancient crocodile and dolphin
Scientists have just discovered a crocodile fossil dating back about 180 million years in Hungary. Notably, the body of this crocodile has many common characteristics between ancient crocodiles and dolphins.
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It is known that the fossil of the ancient crocodile is currently on display at a museum in Budapest, Hungary. At the same time, it is also named “Magyarosuchus fitosi” in honor of the person who discovered the fossil, an amateur archaeologist named Attila Fitos.
According to scientists, this 180 million year old fossil has given them a new look at a new species of ancient crocodile, a species that was influenced by evolution and separated from the "big crocodile family" to evolve into dolphin-like creatures.
Previously, biologists have revealed that in the Jurassic period, there were two types of crocodiles that existed on Earth. One type had scales covering its entire body, had upper and lower limbs, could walk on the ground and gradually developed into today's crocodiles.
Meanwhile, the second type of crocodile, although similar in appearance to crocodiles, does not have a layer of horny scales covering its body. In addition, its limbs have also evolved into fins and a paddle-like tail to adapt to a completely underwater environment.
However, the fossil of the ancient crocodile that has just been found has characteristics that are a mixture of the two crocodile species mentioned above. Specifically, its limbs developed into a membrane-like form that acts as a paddle, its tail also formed like a shark's tail to help it move in water, and its entire body was covered with a layer of hard, horny scales.
This makes scientists suspect that this could be a new species of ancient crocodile or a “hybrid” between the two ancient crocodile species mentioned above. However, it is not excluded that this is a fossil of an ancient crocodile that was on the way to evolving into today’s whales and killer whales.
“This fossil provides a unique new insight into how ancient crocodiles evolved into whales and killer whales more than 180 million years ago,” Dr. Mark Young, a geologist at the University of Edinburgh who studied the specimen, told reporters.
