The researchers have found part of the head, spine and limbs. The fossil is therefore the most complete specimen from that period.
The crocodile is related to ancestors of modern crocodiles. The discovery provides information about a period that scientists didn’t know much about. For example, saltwater crocodiles appear to have lived longer ago than previously thought.
The research shows that saltwater crocodiles probably first appeared in the Triassic period. That era runs from 252 to 201 million years ago. At the end of the Triassic there was mass extinction of several animal species. But this species survived.
Saltwater crocodile adapted very well
Some saltwater crocodiles have adapted well to life in the oceans. They had short limbs that turned into fins and a shark-like tail fin. They also developed the ability to give live birth instead of laying eggs.
About 2 meters long Turnersuchus hingleyae lived in the ocean and hunted marine animals. It had a rather long, narrow snout and resembles crocodiles that still live in northern India today.
The fossil is currently on display at the Lyme Regis Museum in Dorset, a county in the south of England.
