Discovery of the ancient counterpart of crocodiles        

In their recent excavations, archaeologists managed to discover the fossil "Talatosuchi" on the coast of Dorset, England; The result of this discovery included the head, spine and partial limbs.

This creature dates back to the early Jurassic period, 185 million years ago. Scientists say the discovery of this new predator helps fill a gap in the fossil record, suggesting that thalatosuchians, along with other crocodilians, must have emerged during the late Triassic period.

According to Dr. Eric Wilberg, an assistant professor in the Department of Anatomical Sciences at Stony Brook University, more fossils are expected to be discovered, as previous discoveries of a thalatosuchus skull were found in the roof of a Paleolithic cave in Morocco, and now another specimen has been discovered.

Thalatosuchians are colloquially referred to as "sea crocodiles", despite the fact that they are not crocodiles, but they are distantly related. Some thalatosuchians became highly adapted to life in the oceans, and this adaptation brought about changes in their organs.

Due to its relatively long and narrow snout, this creature has an appearance similar to gharial crocodiles. However, it is said that Talatosuchi was not fully evolved. Archaeologists believe that this nearly 2-meter-long predator, unlike crocodiles, lived exclusively in coastal marine habitats.

One of the characteristics of this creature was their large jaw muscles, which probably made it possible for them to bite quickly.