Thursday, September 08, 2005

Fossil News: Pterosaurs and Crocodiles

First off and very intriguing is the discovery - but not yet described - pterosaur that seems to have a 64 ft/18 m (!) wing span. The discoveries come from Isreal and Mexico.

Second discovery is an ubersized croc from Peru. It makes Deinosuchus seem...small. The difference being over 3 meters in length. It seems that ubersizing crocs is a recurring theme. It happened in the Mesozoic. It's happened more recently in the Miocene. It may, if this Peruvian croc proves the theories about the Amazonian inland sea right, have happened there too in a different time as well. So, James, in addition to mosasaurs, uber sized crocs are another candidate for Beyond the Green Door.

It's exciting to see the Mesozoic critters turning up in the areas that haven't been routinely explored yet by paleontologists.


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