The species Caipira suchus catanduvensis lived in the country 85 million years ago
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A study published by the international scientific journal “Historical Biology” last Friday (14) revealed that Brazilian researchers found a type of crocodile that had never been seen before. The animal lived in the Cretaceous period, in the interior of São Paulo and Triangolo Minero. It was called the “tailed crocodile” and lived in Brazil about 85 million years ago, along with the dinosaurs. The difference is that they produced sounds.
This species is called Caipira suchus catanduvensis, and it is about 1.20 meters long. The emission of sounds was discovered after analyzing the fossil's skull, which indicates the presence of resonating chambers linked to the air passages.
Paleontologist and researcher Aline Gaillard said: “They had this device inside their skull connected to the nasal cavity, which allowed them to make resonant sounds. This suggests that they may have made sounds, as other animals do today, to communicate with each other.” At UFRN (Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte), to UOL.
According to the paleontologist, the emission of sounds served as a warning about predators and mating animals.
“It differs from other species of Caipirasuchus for precisely this reason,” he says. “Since it was a favorite target of large predators at the time, this may have been the way it existed to communicate and warn of dangers in the past.” Gillard.
Skull and bones of Caipira suchus catanduvensis Reproduction: personal archive
Where the crocodile fossil was found Reproduction: personal archive
The species Caipira suchus catanduvensis lived in the country 85 million years ago Reproduction
“retarded crocodile”
The animal was given the name “mountain crocodile” because it was found with fossils in 2011, during the reproduction of SP-351, Laranja Highway.
During work to build a bridge at one of the access points to the city of Catandova (SP), large blocks of rock were removed, revealing a rich diversity of fossils. Among the finds are remains of shells, fish, anurans (frogs, toads, and tree frogs), turtles, crocodiles, and dinosaurs.
According to the researcher, the discovery of the country's crocodile is important for science because it expands the diversity of fossil crocodiles known since the end of the Cretaceous period in Brazil. This indicates that the interior of São Paulo and Triangulo Minero were fossil-rich areas in the past.
“These young crocodiles, found in Cretaceous rocks in Brazil, represent the tip of the iceberg of the great diversity of crocodile species that existed in the age of dinosaurs. At this time, Caipirasuchus was literally food for dinosaurs and other crocodiles.” “, highlights Allen Gillard.
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