New research has revealed the hidden past of crocodiles, showing for the first time how these fierce reptiles¹ evolved and survived in a dinosaur² dominated world. While most modern crocodiles live in freshwater habitats and feed on mammals and fish, their ancient relatives were extremely diverse -- with some built for running around like dogs on land and others adapting to life in the open ocean, imitating the feeding behaviour of today's killer³ whales.

 

Research published today [11 September] in the journal Proceedings⁴ of the Royal Society B shows, for the first time, how the jaws⁵ of ancient crocodiles evolved to enable these animals to survive in vastly different environments, all whilst living alongside the dinosaurs⁷ 235 to 65 million years ago.

 

The study was conducted by Tom Stubbs and Dr Emily Rayfield from the University of Bristol, together with Dr Stephanie Pierce from The Royal Veterinary College and Dr Phil Anderson from Duke University.

 

Tom Stubbs, who led the research at the University of Bristol, said: "The ancestors of today's crocodiles have a fascinating history that is relatively⁸ unknown compared to their dinosaur counterparts. They were very different creatures to the ones we are familiar with today, much more diverse and, as this research shows, their ability to adapt was quite remarkable⁹.

 

"Their evolution and anatomical variation during the Mesozoic Era was exceptional. They evolved lifestyles and feeding ecologies unlike anything seen today."

 

The research team examined variation in the morphology (shape) and biomechanics (function) of the lower jaws in over 100 ancient crocodiles, using a unique combination of numerical methods.

 

Dr Stephanie Pierce, from The Royal Veterinary College, said: "We were curious how extinction¹⁰ events and adaptations to extreme environments during the Mesozoic -- a period covering over 170 million years -- impacted the feeding systems of ancient crocodiles and to do this we focused our efforts on the main food processing bone, the lower jaw⁶."

 

By analysing variation in the lower jaw, the researchers provide novel insights into how the feeding systems of ancient crocodiles evolved as the group recovered from the devastating¹¹ end-Triassic extinction event and subsequently responded to the distribution of ecological¹² resources, such as habitat and foodstuff¹³.

 

For the first time, the research has shown that, following the end-Triassic extinction, ancient crocodiles invaded the Jurassic seas and evolved jaws built primarily for hydrodynamic（水力的） efficiency to capture agile¹⁴ prey¹⁵, such as fish. However, only a small range of elongate¹⁶（延长的） lower jaw shapes were suitable in Jurassic marine¹⁷ environments.

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