Jurassic fossil shows missing link in crocodile

London : Researchers have found a “missing link” from a 180 million-year-old fossil that sheds light on how some ancient crocodiles evolved into dolphin-like animals. The fossil named Magyarosuchus fitosi in honour of the amateur collector who discovered it, Attila Fitos, was unearthed on a mountain range in north-west Hungary in 1996 and stored in a museum in Budapest.

The species featuring a large portion of backbone is nearly five metres long and had large, pointed teeth for grasping prey. It was one of the largest coastal predators of the Jurassic Period. It also shares key body features seen in two distinct families of prehistoric crocodiles. Besides being heavily armoured, the species also had a tail fin, suggesting it is a missing link in the family tree of crocodiles, the researchers noted, in Artist’s impression of the specimen the paper they published.