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(Illustration by Julius Csotonyi) (ancient crocodiles)
Scientists claim the finding of a unique species of ancient crocodiles that ruled the world way before dinosaurs wander the Earth.
Aetosaurs, a heavily armoured cousin of modern crocodiles, were discover in several shapes and dimensions before they went extinct 200 million years before. A new research concentrated on the aetosaur’s suit of armour, which has most of its major parts intact, has showed new things about this ancient crocodiles.
“We have elements from the back of the neck and shoulder area all the way to the end of the tail. Mostly, you will not find too much material,” William Reyes, a doctoral candidate at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences, said in a statement.
The group of scientists utilized this unique suit to recognize the specimen as a new aetosaur species — which they entitled Garzapelta muelleri. While the name “Garza” identifies Garza County in northwest Texas, where the aetosaur was detected, “Pelta” is Latin for shield.
The animal resembles the modern-day crocodile and survived over 200 million years ago. The study, issued in The Anatomical Record, shows that the bony plates are embedded straightly in the skin and create a suit of armour by joining together like a mosaic. Garzapelta’s sides were flanked by round spikes that would have given another layer of prevention from predators.
Garzapelta’s spikes, just like another aetosaur species, surprised scientists by their far away relation. This illustrates convergent development, where alike traits arise independently.
Flight growth across insects, birds, mammals, and extinct pterosaurs exemplifies this. Rare qualities distinguish Garzapelta as a new species, from plate assembly to bone ridges.
Placement within the aetosaur family tree created obstacles for scientists as the species had varying armour emphasis. Its back armour resembled one species, while its midsection spikes resembled another.
Figuring out independent spike development aided Garzapelta’s classification. Reyes notes the complexity showed by convergent development, emphasising the intricate nature of evolutionary studies.
It is worth stating that Aetosaurs fossils have been found on every continent except Antarctica and Australia.
