Fossils of an Ancient “Hybrid” Between a Crocodile and a Dolphin Discovered

The fossil of the ancient crocodile is currently on display at a museum in Budapest, Hungary. It has been 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, which 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 crocodile species.

Meanwhile, the second type of crocodile, although similar in appearance to crocodiles, lacks the horny layer 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 discovered has characteristics that are a mixture of the two crocodile species mentioned above. Specifically, its limbs developed into a webbed form that acts as a paddle, its tail also formed like a shark's tail to help them move in water, and its entire body was covered with 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 impossible that this is the 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.