Gaby
A team from the Geological, Mining, and Metallurgical Institute of Peru and La Unión College unearthed a nearly complete skeleton of a gavial crocodile in the Ocucaje Desert. The Ocucaje Desert, located 350 kilometers from Peru’s capital Lima, is known for its wealth of marine fossils. The gavial’s remains date to roughly 10 to 12 million years ago. This fossil is the youngest known specimen of the extinct genus Piscogavialis and its only species, Piscogavialis jugaliperforatus, discovered in the region. The fossilized juvenile, a fish-eating crocodile, measured about three meters long, IFLScience reported.
“This is the first time we have discovered a young individual of this species, meaning it had not yet reached its maximum size at the time of death,” said vertebrate paleontologist Mario Gamarra. Experts estimate adult Piscogavialis could reach up to 9 meters long. Gamarra explained these crocodiles had elongated, narrow snouts and fed exclusively on fish. The Indian gharial is likely the closest living relative; it also has an exceptionally long, slender snout.
The Ocucaje Desert has produced numerous fossils over the years. As of 2023, researchers have identified at least 55 previously unknown species of marine vertebrates from the area. Earlier excavations turned up remains of ancient whales, dolphins, sharks, and other creatures that lived during the Miocene epoch, about 23 to 5 million years ago. Last year, scientists uncovered perhaps the region’s most astonishing extinct resident: the massive whale Perucetus colossus, a creature with a manatee-like build. At 17 to 20 meters long and an estimated 85 to 340 tons, it may be the heaviest animal known to have lived on Earth. The newly discovered gavial remains are another striking find from a place that was once ocean.
