Researchers have found the world’s oldest crocodilian eggs that were laid around 152 million years ago, from the cliffs in Portugal.
The eggs were laid by a group of creatures called crocodylomorphs, which are close relatives of “true” crocodiles. The newly discovered eggs are similar to that of present-day crocodiles, except they are bigger in size.
Based on the size and morphology of the eggs, palaeontologists say that the creature would have been two meters long.
“The fact that they are from the late Jurassic period makes these eggs the oldest crocodilian eggs known so far,” said Joao Russo of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Portugal.
“This new discovery from Portugal extends the knowledge of this type of egg by approximately 40 million years.”
The eggs were discovered during excavations of the cliffs near the village of Lourinha, north of Lisbon. They were found in several clutches and appear to be of two different types.
“The fossil record tells us that crocodiles and their relatives, forming the larger group of crocodylomorphs, were much more diverse in the past, with different feeding habits, ecological niche distribution or morphology,” he added.
