Peruvian paleontologists presented, this Wednesday, November 28 in Lima (Peru), the rare fossil of a young saltwater crocodile dating from 10 to 12 million years ago. The individual was discovered in the Ocucaje desert, considered the largest fossil cemetery from the Miocene period in the world.
It is a “fossil of Piscogavialis, a gharial crocodile that existed in Peru approximately 10 to 12 million years ago,” said Mario Gamarra, a paleontologist specializing in vertebrates at the Geological Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Lima.
A fossil in perfect condition
“This is the first time we have found a juvenile of this species,” Mario Gamarra said at a press conference.
These specimens had a skull and jaw morphology different from that of current crocodiles and alligators. “They had an elongated snout and their diet was entirely piscivorous,” explained the paleontologist.
The fossil, which measures around three meters long, was discovered at the end of 2023 in the Ocucaje desert, about 350 kilometers south of Lima and about 40 kilometers from the Pacific Ocean.
The desert is known for having revealed, about thirty years ago, the first signs of the existence of fossils dating back to the Miocene (between five and 23 million years ago), in particular giant sharks and sperm whales that reach up to 20 meters deep. length.
Source: BFM TV
