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Peru finds giant crocodile fossil in Amazon
Fri Sep 2, 2005 10:16 PM BST
LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Peruvian explorers have discovered the fossilized remains of a giant, 46-foot-(14-meter)-long crocodile deep in the Amazon jungle, lending credence to a theory that the world's largest rain forest was once a huge inland sea, a scientist said on Friday.
A French-funded expedition of 12 scientists found the remains of the crocodile's huge skeleton, jaw and teeth under the thick undergrowth of Peru's northern jungle which is part of the Amazon basin.
Once weighing 9 tons and with a 4-foot(1.3-meter)-long head, the crocodile is only the second fossil discovery of its kind in three decades, said Rodolfo Salas, head of paleontology at the National History Museum of Peru, whose expedition received funding from the University of Toulouse and French clothing company Devanlay.
"This rare find should help us prove that today's Amazon jungle was once an inland sea, possibly connected to the Caribbean," Salas told Reuters. Other reptiles and giant armadillos were also found nearby, he added.
Scientists believe the collision of the South American and the Nazca plates 15 million years ago formed the Andes mountains, blocking the Amazon river which flowed westward and causing the area to become a vast inland sea.
Following cleaning and research, the fossil is expected to be shown in Peru's Natural History Museum.
SOURCE
Fri Sep 2, 2005 10:16 PM BST
LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - Peruvian explorers have discovered the fossilized remains of a giant, 46-foot-(14-meter)-long crocodile deep in the Amazon jungle, lending credence to a theory that the world's largest rain forest was once a huge inland sea, a scientist said on Friday.
A French-funded expedition of 12 scientists found the remains of the crocodile's huge skeleton, jaw and teeth under the thick undergrowth of Peru's northern jungle which is part of the Amazon basin.
Once weighing 9 tons and with a 4-foot(1.3-meter)-long head, the crocodile is only the second fossil discovery of its kind in three decades, said Rodolfo Salas, head of paleontology at the National History Museum of Peru, whose expedition received funding from the University of Toulouse and French clothing company Devanlay.
"This rare find should help us prove that today's Amazon jungle was once an inland sea, possibly connected to the Caribbean," Salas told Reuters. Other reptiles and giant armadillos were also found nearby, he added.
Scientists believe the collision of the South American and the Nazca plates 15 million years ago formed the Andes mountains, blocking the Amazon river which flowed westward and causing the area to become a vast inland sea.
Following cleaning and research, the fossil is expected to be shown in Peru's Natural History Museum.
SOURCE
