New Species of Ancient Crocodile Dubbed 'Tanks of the Triassic' Much Sturdier Than Modern Crocs

A new species of crocodile was recently discovered. The discovery proved that ancient crocs were more powerful and robust than their modern-day versions.

New Species of Crocodile Discovered

Paleontologists discovered a rare find -- a carapace of an aetosaur, thought to have been extinct 200 million years ago. The creature was dubbed the "tanks of the Triassic," and the carapace was 70 percent complete.

William Reyes, a doctoral student at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences and author of the study, noted that the remains include elements from the rear of the neck and shoulder area to the tip of the tail. The find was rare as they typically only come across very little material.

The remains allowed them to identify it as a new species from the Triassic period. They called it Garzapelta muelleri.

The remains had been discovered years earlier and preserved on a shelf at the Texas Tech University fossil collections for 30 years before scientists studied it and discovered it to be a completely new species. The Latin word "pelta" means shield, and it was a reference to Garza County in northwest Texas, where the aetosaur was discovered. The species name "muelleri" honors Bill Mueller, the paleontologist who initially discovered the species. It was reportedly much sturdier than the modern-day crocodiles.

Throughout the Late Triassic, aetosaurs were especially widespread and varied, with different species being found in North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia, among other regions of the world. These animals were distinguished by a large amount of bone armor covering much of their body, which probably provided defense against predators.

Osteoderms are the bony plates that comprise the creature's armor. Instead of creating a distinct layer of defense akin to a shell, these osteoderms were incorporated straight into the skin and interwoven like a mosaic. It has also been discovered that the sides of this new species feature curled spikes. The specimen's plates and spikes assisted the scientists in recognizing it as a new species and provided information on the specimen's position within the evolutionary tree of other known aetosaur species.

What Is Aetosaurs?

Aetosaurs represent Late Triassic reptiles. Their name, which translates to "eagle lizard," derives from the fact that their skulls resemble those of birds in several ways. The head was bird-like, but it culminated in a pig snout above a shovel-shaped jaw.

They had crocodile-like long and thin bodies, with some having large turtle-like midsections and armadillo-like armor coverings. The aetosaurs were fiercely armored creatures with the head of a bird, the body of a crocodile, and the snout of a pig.

These were large reptiles that may reach lengths of one to five meters, with an average of three meters (10 feet). While some aetosaurs had a broad midsection resembling a turtle, the majority had a relatively narrow body resembling a crocodile.

The neck, as well as the top and bottom surfaces of the trunk and tail, were all covered in armor, providing the animal with complete protection. Heavy spikes were also present on certain species' shoulders and flanks, such as Desmatosuchus. Aetosaurs most likely relied on their bulk and armor over their speed to protect them from predators, as evidenced by their fossils and herbivorous diet.

They are believed to have been mostly omnivores, and larger carnivorous reptiles most likely preyed on them. Aetosaur extinction happened in the Late Triassic, probably due to competition from newly developing dinosaur species or environmental changes.

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