The Ocucaje Desert, located in southern Peru, is a real treasure for paleontologists. This region, rich in fossils, has yielded an exceptional new discovery: the fossilized remains of a 12 million year old marine gharial crocodile. This is the youngest known specimen of this species to have been discovered so far.
A unique discovery in the Ocucaje Desert
The fossil was found in 2023 by a joint team of Peruvian researchers from the Geological, Mining and Metallurgical Institute of Peru and Colegio La Unión. This is an articulated and almost complete skeleton of a young gharial crocodile. This specimen measures about three meters long and would have lived between 10 and 12 million yearsduring the Miocene, a period when the seas covered a large part of the local land.
This fossil is all the more exceptional as the specimen is a juvenile, an extremely rare discovery for this species. According to Mario Gamarra, paleontologist and head of the excavation, this is the first time that such a fossil has been found, which opens up new opportunities to understand the evolution of gharial crocodiles. These prehistoric reptiles, once adults, could reach a size impressive length of nine metersa size which made them particularly formidable.
Note that this gharial was distinguished by its diet strictly piscivorous. Its elongated snout, similar to that of its modern cousin, the Indian gharial, allowed it to accurately capture the fish that populated the waters of the time.
The discovery of this young crocodile allows us to better understand the diversity of this species and its interactions with its environment. By finding a juvenile, researchers can also refine their knowledge of the developmental stages of these animals and their evolution over time. This find is all the more important because it represents a direct link between ancient species and their modern cousins, thus making it possible to retrace the history of these fascinating reptiles.
The Ocucaje Desert: a site of exceptional paleontological wealth
The Ocucaje Desert is one of the richest fossil sites in Peru. Its geographical location, about 350 kilometers south of Lima, makes it a privileged place for paleontologists looking for remains from the Miocene period. In addition to the gharial crocodile, this region has already enabled the discovery of many extinct marine species, including whales, dolphins and sharks.
In 2023, another significant discovery was made in the same area: that of A colossal porcupinea 39-million-year-old giant whale once suspected of being the heaviest animal to ever exist. Ultimately, more recent work challenged this assertion, reestablishing the blue whale as the largest animal to have ever lived on our planet.
