Finding crocodile fossils shaped like tatu in Brazil

An ancient crocodile species that has a skin-like appearance of the South American tatu has been discovered yesterday at a climate museum in Brazil.

Armadillosuchus arrudai, who has been living in the arid region of Brazil about 90 million years ago in the Cretaceous period, according to scientists.

It measures 2 meters in length, weighs 120 kg, has a wide head with narrow snouts and many teeth.

"The shell is like an iron armor of this species that has never been found in any of the current and fossil alligators, ' Ismar de Souza Carvalho, archaeologist of the Federal University in Rio de Janeiro said in the email we.

'But the strangeness doesn't stop there,' said Thiago Marinho, an archaeologist who also works at the university. 'This crocodile can chew in the way of mammals, just like the humans we often chew.'

(Photo: Paul Jurgens / FAPERJ)

Most modern crocodiles use only their strong jaws to crush their prey. But this fossil crocodile can move the lower jaw up and down, using teeth to shred meat, roots, branches, and mollusks , Marinho said.

Dry, hot climate

Archaeologists discovered this crocodile in 2005 in the Bauru region of the state of Sao Paolo, an area where they thought there was a hot, dry climate in the period of 90 million years ago, Souza Carvalho said. .

'There is seasonal rain, with floods. This is very different from the African and American crocodiles that are used to living in water areas all year round. '

The limbs of the Armadillosuchus alligator are capable of digging the soil just like the tatu.

'This may be a way to avoid the hot, dry air of the climate of that time, or to hide other larger species that belong to the crocodile family, ' said Souza Carvalho.

The team described this fossil in the February issue of the Journal of South American Earth Sciences. Fossils and a model of life simulation of this species will be displayed at the Rio de Janiero Environmental Museum next Tuesday.