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Young World
Terrible croc
Photo: AP
Prehistoric: Guarinisuchus munizi.
The discovery of an almost complete skeleton of the “Guarinisuchus munizi”, a prehistoric crocodile, clears up a few mysteries on the evolution of the modern crocodile. Brazilian scientists saw that this is a new species that seems to be closely related to the African marine crocodylmorphs. This lends credence to the theory that the group originated in Africa and then moved to South America and later to North America. Scientists also now believe that the crocodylmorphs moved in just as the marine lizards of the early Paleocene era (about 65 million years ago) started going extinct. The fossils were found in Pernambuci state in northeastern Brazil. Many of the modern crocodile’s ancestors seem to be coming out of Brazil: January saw the discovery of a land reptile (80 million years old), which was said to be a link between prehistoric and modern crocs. February 2005 brought to light the Uberabasuchus Terrificus, or “Terrible Crocodile of Uberaba”, a 70-million-year-old fossil.
COMPILED BY R. KRITHIKA
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