Found in the Ocucaje desert: this is the crocodile fossil that is almost 12 million years old

A group of paleontologists from Peru presented the fossil of a small marine crocodile found on the country’s coast and whose age they estimated between 10 to 12 million years.

“We have presented the fossil of Piscogavialis, a gharial crocodile that existed in Peru approximately 10 to 12 million years ago,” vertebrate paleontologist Mario Gamarra told AFP during a press conference.

The scientist indicated that the fossil, which measures about three meters, was found in perfect condition at the end of 2023 in the Ocucaje desert, about 350 km south of Lima, and 40 km inland from the coast that borders the ocean. Peaceful.

“This is the first time we have found a juvenile of this species, that is, it had not reached its maximum size yet. He died before that,” Gamarra highlighted.

“In fact, the closest current relative to this crocodile would be the Indian gharial,” he noted.

The discovery was made jointly by the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute and the La Unión school.

These specimens had a cranial and mandibular morphology different from that of current crocodiles and alligators. “They had an elongated snout and their diet was completely piscivorous; they ate fish and not so much meat,” said Gamarra, who reconstructed the fossil.

“The fossil came as a large block of rock and I was in charge, with specialized tools, of working on it to leave it as it is today,” he added.

Researchers recognize the Ocucaje Desert as a place rich in fossils, where more than two decades ago those of four-legged dwarf whales, dolphins, sharks and other species from the Miocene period (between 5 and 23 million years) were discovered. .