World's oldest crocodile eggs discovered from 152 million years ago
By Nicola Harley 10 March 2017 • 12:54am
World's oldest crocodilian eggs laid 152 million years ago have been discovered in cliffs in Portugal Credit: Reuters
The world's oldest crocodilian eggs laid 152 million years ago have been discovered in cliffs in Portugal.
The eggs were laid by close relatives of "true" crocodiles, a group called crocodylomorphs.
Palaeontologists say the creatures would have been two metres long.
João Russo of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal, told the BBC: "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.
"The fossil record tells us that crocodiles and their relatives (forming the larger group of crocodylomorphs) were much more diverse in the past, with different feeding habits, ecological niche distribution or morphology."
The eggs have been found during excavations of the cliffs near the village of Lourinhã, north of Lisbon.
They were found in several clutches and appear to be of two different types.
The research is published in the journal, Plos One.
Portugal,
Dinosaurs,
Fossils,
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