Crocodile Scene (IMAGE)

American Museum of Natural History

Crocodile Scene

Caption

This reconstruction shows proto-Amazonian "mega-wetland" swamps from the late middle Miocene (about 13 million years ago) and the three new species of crocodiles discovered from fossils uncovered in northeastern Peru: Kuttanacaiman iquitosensis (left), Caiman wannlangstoni (right), and Gnatusuchus pebasensis (bottom). The extinct caimans are thought to have thrived on the unusually high abundance and diversity of mollusks like clams and snails that lived in the area.

Credit

© Javier Herbozo

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