Crocodile Kin Have Been Chasing Warm Climates for 250 Million Years
Researchers found crocodile-line animals kept to warm climates for 245 million years, a pattern that may have helped them survive the asteroid impact.
- A new study published in Science Advances reveals that crocodile ancestors, or Pseudosuchia, maintained consistent warm climate preferences over 245 million years, tracking suitable habitats rather than adapting to new conditions.
- This climate loyalty likely helped crocodiles survive the asteroid impact 66 million years ago, which doomed non-avian dinosaurs, as tropical refuges persisted where these reptiles could endure.
- Cold-Blooded metabolism allowed crocodiles to survive long periods without food, lead author Alfio Alessandro Chiarenza noted, a significant advantage when terrestrial productivity collapsed after impact.
- Modern crocodilians are the surviving remnants of a once extraordinarily diverse group that included 40-foot 'super crocs,' pug-snouted herbivores, and ocean-going types.
- As the planet warms, Professor Philip Mannion warns that today's species face challenges because the loss of suitable areas to roads and cities makes survival harder.
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The ancestors of today's crocodiles apparently survived the climate changes millions of years ago also because of lack of adaptability. This also has consequences for today's animals.
Crocodiles – crocodiles, alligators, caimans and gavials of today, as well as their missing relatives – have had a resounding success since their appearance more than 240 million years ago. And a new research identifies an important factor that contributed to this success: the fact that they remained stubbornly ...
Crocodile Kin Have Been Chasing Warm Climates for 250 Million Years
New research suggests that the ancestors of alligators and crocodiles stayed loyal to a warm climate through mass extinctions and hothouse worlds, a loyalty that may have helped them survive the asteroid that killed the non-avian dinosaurs. The post Crocodile Kin Have Been Chasing Warm Climates for 250 Million Years appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
A study of more than 7,000 fossils reconstructs 245 million years of history and points to an unexpected climate-related advantage.
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