An artist’s impression of Enalioetes schroederi. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.
SciNews has a story about the discovery of a new species of ancient marine reptile. Enalioetes schroederi lived during the Cretaceous Period, some 140 to 132 million years ago. This fossil specimen, which includes a "perfect" skull, was found in the Stadthagen Formation of northwestern Germany about 100 years ago in a quarry near Hannover. It's said to be the best preserved metriorhynchid crocodylomorph known from the Cretaceous period. The description was published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
“The specimen is remarkable as it is one very few metriorhynchids that is known by a three-dimensionally preserved skull,” Dr. Sachs said.
“This allowed us to CT scan the specimen and so we were able to learn a lot about the internal anatomy of these marine crocodiles.”
“The remarkable preservation allowed us to reconstruct the internal cavities and even the inner ears of the animal.”
Enalioetes schroederi gives paleontologists fresh insight into how metriorhynchids were evolving during the Cretaceous.
“During the Jurassic metriorhynchids evolved a body-plan radically different from other crocodiles — flippers, tailfin, loss of bony armor and smooth scaleless skin,” said Dr. Mark Young, a paleontologist at the University of Edinburgh.
