The oldest fossils of the Jurassic monster Thalattosuchia have recently been unearthed in England and Turkey, baffling scientists as they appear to have fallen from the sky onto the tree of life on Earth.
According to Science Alert, these fossils belong to a previously unknown species of Thalattosuchia, named Turnersuchus hingleyae. Thalattosuchia is a group of Jurassic animals commonly referred to as “ancient marine crocodiles”, though they are not true crocodiles.
While its “relatives” can grow up to 10 meters long, this new species is only 2 meters in length, featuring short limbs, a long tail, and a slender snout similar to modern crocodiles. They also possess an expanded jaw structure like crocodiles, allowing them to capture fish, octopuses, or squid with impressive speed and force, making them a terrifying predator in their oceanic habitat.
Graphic depicting a crocodile-like monster that is not a crocodile from the Jurassic period – (Image: Júlia d’Oliveira).
Despite their outward appearance, these ancient marine predators are not part of the order Crocodylia.
Recent studies on the newly discovered species, published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology and the Journal of African Earth Sciences, indicate that the new species has left scientists unsure of where to place Thalattosuchia on the tree of life.
The hypothesis suggests they may be a sibling group to crocodiles, or an ancient lineage that branched off long ago.
The authors analyzed the most complete skeleton of Turnersuchus hingleyae found in England and determined that it must have descended from an unknown “ghost ancestor”, which emerged around 200 million years ago, during the Triassic period, coinciding with the appearance of ancient crocodiles.
This ghost ancestor may be a true marine crocodile, a common ancestor of both Thalattosuchia and crocodiles. So far, no fossils suspected to belong to this described “ghost” species have been found, but that does not mean it did not exist, according to the research team.
If that is indeed the case, modern crocodiles today could be considered a descendant species of this Jurassic predatory monster that “fell from the sky.”
Scientists hope to discover more ancient Thalattosuchia to clarify this mystery.
