Characteristics of the prehistoric navy found in Angola, “one of the oldest” of his group, “prove its presence well before the mass extinction that occurred 66 million years ago.”
Researchers from the Faculty of Science and Technology, New University of Lisbon have discovered a New prehistoric marine crocodile On the Angolan coast, which offers a new perspective on the evolution of marine life at the end of the Cretaceous period.
The discovery of the fossil in Namibe province, announced on Tuesday, was led by the paleontologist Arthur Maréchaland will help reconstruct life in African oceans before global cataclysm of 66 million years ago, according to a new FCT statement.
“Treaty-be one of the oldest and southern representatives already identified in this groupwith characteristics that prove its presence well before the mass extinction that occurred 66 million years ago, ”said Arthur Marécjal, cited in the statement.
The Fossil, belonging to the family Dyrosauridae – A group of large marine reptiles related to modern crocodiles – was excavated in 2017, near Bentiaba, a place of recognized importance for African marine paleontology, and prepared at the Lourinhã Museum, FCT.
The analysis of fossilized bones positions the animal in the subfamily Hyposaurinaerevealing an elongated muzzle adapted to marine life and “challenges the theory that Dyrosauridae They only flourished after the extinction of dinosaurs, suggesting before that the absence of previous records may be due to an incomplete fossil registration. ”
FCT adds that this investigation at the Journal of the Linnean Society Zoological, reinforces Angola as a rising region for future paleontological studies.
“In places like Bentiaba, where rocks are still traces of old marine reptiles, such as mosasaurs, pleasiosaurs and now relatives of crocodiles, paleontologists are getting rare glimpses from the South Atlantic ecosystems before one of the most dramatic turning points in the history of our planet in change,” the press release stands out.
Paleoartist Victor Carvalho will have created a reconstruction entitled “Submerged in Time: Fauna before silence” showing the newly discovered crocodile alongside other sea creatures that once prospered in the Atlantic and Angolan seas of the past.
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