Crocs' climate clock: Ancient distribution of Crocs could reveal more about past climates

Date:  June 19, 2019

Source:  Taylor & Francis Group

Underneath their tough exteriors, some crocodilians have a sensitive side that scientists could use to shine light on our ancient climate, according to new findings published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.

The idea of a clock inside a crocodile was imagined by JM Barrie in the story of Peter Pan, but instead of telling the current time, ancient crocodilians could serve as climate "clocks" -- proxies to study past climates, in a similar way to the use of tree rings and ice cores.

This is possible because scientists have discovered that some species of crocodilian were sensitive to changes in climate while others were more tolerant. Mapping the distribution of these different species using fossil remains could reveal more precise details about what the global climate was like in different locations millions of years ago.

"Our analysis suggests that crocodilians are even less of a homogenous group than previously thought and that some alligator-like reptiles were particularly good at tolerating the dramatic changes in climate that marked the end of the Eocene epoch and the beginning of the Oligocene," says lead author Dr Stéphane Jouve from the University of Sorbonne.

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