About 10 million year old fossil of long-snouted crocodile unearthed in Peruvian desert

The fossilized remains of a marine crocodile up to 12 million years old have been discovered. The fossilized crocodile is the youngest known example of this species to have been discovered to date.

The discovery was recently revealed by a joint team consisting of researchers from the Peruvian Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute and Colegio La Unión. The fossil is an articulated and almost complete skeleton of a young gharial – a fish-eating crocodile – that was almost three meters long.

The specimen, reportedly dated to be between 10 and 12 million years old, was originally discovered in 2023 in the Ocucaje Desert in Ica, about 350 kilometers south of Peru’s capital Lima.

“This is the first time we have found a juvenile of this species, meaning it had not yet reached its maximum size. It died beforehand,” explained vertebrate paleontologist Mario Gamarra during a press conference.

According to the Peruvian Confederation of National Paleontology, these crocodiles could reach a length of up to 9 meters (29.5 feet) when fully grown.

“They had an elongated snout and their diet was exclusively fish,” Gamarra added. The paleontologist explained that this animal’s closest relative is probably the Indian gavial, which has an extremely long and thin snout.

The Ocucaje Desert is known for its wealth of fossils. By 2023, at least 55 new species of marine vertebrates have been found in the area. Previous excavations have discovered remains of four-legged minke whales, dolphins and sharks, as well as other species from the Miocene epoch, between 5 and 23 million years ago.

In 2023, paleontologists revealed perhaps the region’s most spectacular extinct resident: a giant manatee-like whale – Perucetus Colossus – this is considered the heaviest animal that ever existed.

It appears the new gavial crocodile is just the latest example of a remarkable discovery to come from this long-lost marine environment.