UV light reveals possible camouflage on a 125-million-year-old crocodile
Researchers have used ultraviolet light to uncover hidden soft tissue details in a 125-million-year-old crocodile fossil found in Spain. The study provides new insights into the ancient creature's skin, sensory structures, and potential camouflage patterns.
Why it matters
This discovery enhances our understanding of evolutionary biology and demonstrates how modern imaging techniques can extract new data from long-held museum specimens.
A remarkably preserved fossil from northeastern Spain is giving scientists a rare look at the skin, soft tissues, and possible coloration of an ancient crocodile relative that lived about 125 million years ago.
The new study, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , provides the first detailed description of soft tissues preserved in Montsecosuchus depereti , a Lower Cretaceous crocodylomorph discovered at the Pedrera de Mei site in the province of Lleida (Catalonia, Spain). By examining the fossil under ultraviolet light, researchers uncovered new evidence about its skin, sensory structures, respiratory anatomy, and possible color pattern. The work was led by the Institut Catal de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont.
A Tiny Crocodile Preserved for 125 Million Years
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