Ancient crocodiles are vegetarian animals

Paleontologists have determined that some groups of non-carnivorous crocodiles like their descendants. After a detailed analysis of ancient crocodile teeth, scientists concluded that vegetarian habits evolved in three distant cousins ​​of modern crocodiles into at least three different times.

Keegan Melstrom, a graduate student at the University of Utah, said: 'The most interesting thing we discovered was that the extinct crocodiles seemed to eat plants very often. Our research shows that the complexly shaped teeth that we speculate refer to herbivores , appear in extinct crocodiles of at least three times and perhaps come six species'.

Modern crocodiles share the same body shape and simple conical teeth, physiology necessary for life as a comprehensive carnivore that lives both in water and on the shore. But when paleontologists began studying the teeth of extinct species, distant relatives of crocodiles today, they discovered the diversity of crocodile teeth.

Some ancient crocodiles eat plants - (Photo: JORGE GONZALEZ).

Specifically, the researchers found evidence of conical shaped teeth and different jaws among the ancient crocodiles.

Melstrom said: ' Carnivores own simple teeth while the teeth of herbivores are more complex. Omnivores, organisms that eat both plants and animals, are in the middle, their teeth are both simple and complex. '

Melstrom said: 'A part of my previous study indicated that this feature belongs to live-toothed reptiles, like crocodiles and lizards. So these results show the basic characteristic between diet and teeth in both mammals and reptiles, although their tooth shapes are very different and can be applied to both reptiles. extinction'.

To rebuild the diet of ancient crocodiles, scientists used an analytical method designed to predict modern mammalian eating habits based on their tooth form. The researchers measured and analyzed 146 teeth of 16 extinct crocodile species.

A comparative analysis showed that grass-eating crocodiles appeared early in the evolution of reptiles and were present in the alligator group from the end of the Three-Tenth Century until the end of the Cretaceous period. During this period, crocodiles adopted the vegetarian habit of at least three different times, and could be up to six times.

According to Melstrom: 'Our research demonstrates that extinct crocodiles have an extremely diverse diet. Some are similar to modern crocodiles and are predominantly carnivorous, others are omnivores and still have plant-eating species. Herbivores live on different continents at different times, some species live with mammals and mammalian relatives while others do not. This shows that grass-eating crocodiles thrive in many environments'.

However, herbivorous crocodiles have disappeared from the planet after the great extinction of the dinosaurs. Melstrom hopes that the following research will help explain why the crocodile diet is so diverse after the extinction of the Great End of the Cretaceous period, not after the extinction of the late Cretaceous period.

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