A groundbreaking study is reshaping our understanding of crocodile evolution by pinpointing the onset of slow growth rates to the Late Triassic period, much earlier than the previously assumed Early Jurassic timeline. The research highlights newly discovered fossil crocodile ancestors (known as crocodylomorphs) that exhibited slow growth rates, similar to modern-day crocodilians. Intriguingly, these early crocodylomorphs were not the lethargic, semi-aquatic creatures we are familiar with today; they were small, active, and fully terrestrial. The study also suggests that this slow-growth strategy was not a mere evolutionary quirk but a survival mechanism, as only the slow-growing crocodylomorphs managed to survive the End-Triassic mass extinction. This stands in stark contrast to the fast-growing dinosaurs of the same era, setting the stage for the divergent evolutionary paths that would later define their modern descendants.
Today's crocodilians all grow slowly, taking years to reach maximum size. In contrast, birds are crocodilian's closest living relatives, and they can reach adult size in less than a year . When, how, and why crocodilians evolved to grow so slowly has eluded researchers for years.
The researchers also studied fossils of a gigantic new crocodilian ancestor that lived 210 million years ago, discovered in the village of Qhemegha, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Professor Jonah Choiniere of the University of the Witwatersrand, and co-author of the paper says"This fantastic specimen is one of dozens of new fossils we've recovered from our excavations in Late Triassic rocks at Qhemegha Village.
They found that the gigantic new species grew more slowly than other large reptiles of its day and that other crocodylomorph species that evolved more recently retained this slow growth strategy, decelerating it even further. The strategy of slow growth became a characteristic of all known crocodylomorphs descending from their ancient ancestor.
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