Herbivory evolved in the crocodile clan at least three times
mammals, living members of the crocodile clan have exceptionally boring dentition. From the slender-snouted gharials of India and the nocturnal caimans of South America to the saltwater behemoths of the South Pacific, crocodile teeth vary little in morphology. All are conical and pointed.
This predilection for pointed fangs is not, however, how it has always been. During the days of the dinosaurs, the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, crocodile-clan members showed extraordinary dental diversity. Many of their teeth have proved so bizarre that some palaeontologists have theorised that, far from being carnivorous, these ancient species might have been eating plants. A study published this week in, by Keegan Melstrom and Randall Irmis at the University of Utah, confirms this.
Until now, however, the technique has been used mostly on the molars of living mammals. Indeed, Mr Melstrom and Dr Irmis knew of no studies that had tested it extensively on crocodiles and their kin. This lack of testing made sense, because living crocodilians have no complex tooth morphologies to analyse—so why bother? However, the strange teeth of ancient crocodiles, they reasoned, might give. For comparison, they also added teeth from a modern caiman into the mix.
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