Peru finds giant crocodile fossil in Amazon

LIMA, Peru (Reuters) – Peruvian explorers have discovered
the fossilized remains of a giant, 46-foot-(14-meter)-long
crocodile deep in the Amazon jungle, lending credence to a
theory that the world’s largest rain forest was once a huge
inland sea, a scientist said on Friday.

A French-funded expedition of 12 scientists found the
remains of the crocodile’s huge skeleton, jaw and teeth under
the thick undergrowth of Peru’s northern jungle which is part
of the Amazon basin.

Once weighing 9 tons and with a 4-foot(1.3-meter)-long
head, the crocodile is only the second fossil discovery of its
kind in three decades, said Rodolfo Salas, head of paleontology
at the National History Museum of Peru, whose expedition
received funding from the University of Toulouse and French
clothing company Devanlay.

“This rare find should help us prove that today’s Amazon
jungle was once an inland sea, possibly connected to the
Caribbean,” Salas told Reuters. Other reptiles and giant
armadillos were also found nearby, he added.

Scientists believe the collision of the South American and
the Nazca plates 15 million years ago formed the Andes
mountains, blocking the Amazon river which flowed westward and
causing the area to become a vast inland sea.

Following cleaning and research, the fossil is expected to
be shown in Peru’s Natural History Museum.