Some of the oldest and the best preserved crocodiles have been uncovered from the cliffs of Portugal. It is a remarkable discovery and for some scientist. The size and morphology of the eggs spills some crucial details about the mother crocodile that laid them almost 152 million years ago. Surprisingly, as per the paleontologists involved with this discovery observe that these ancient eggs are very similar to those laid by the present-day crocodile, except bigger in size. Based on the size of the eggs, the paleontologists say that the creature that laid them is believed to be of around 2 meters in length. The eggs were spotted and excavated near the village of Lourinha located north of the city of Lisbon, Portugal.
Joao Russo, a member of the research and excavation team from the Universidade Nove de Lisboa, explains, “The fact that they are from the Late Jurassic makes these eggs the oldest crocodilian eggs known so far. This new discovery from Portugal extends the knowledge of this type of egg by approximately 40 million years.”
As per the current understanding of the present day crocodiles and their evolution over the time, it is said that the members of the reptilian group called crocodylomorphs are the ones who laid the eggs and are the direct relative of the modern-day crocodiles. Over the last 15o million years, the crocodiles haven’t undergone many changes as compared to other classes of the kingdom Animalia. However, the fossil records tells us that the creatures of that time are supposedly more diverse owing to the differences in habitat, feeding habits and morphology, as added on by Joao Russo.
