Not all fossils are great beauties. For every delicately-preserved feathered dinosaur or gorgeous fossil mammal with every bone still in articulation, there are dozens upon dozens of fossils that make paleontologists suck the air through their teeth in mock sympathy pain. That's just how it goes. But looks aren't everything. Even a clump of busted bone can reveal species totally unknown to us.
The skull of Ieldraan melkshamensis, described by paleontologist Davide Foffa and colleagues, is the kind of fossil that might make you cringe. The Jurassic reptile's skull is preserved inside a concretion, the overall effect looking like the world's worst jigsaw puzzle. But enough of the skull remains that Foffa and coauthors were able to tell that it represents a previously-unknown form of marine crocodile that was swimming through Jurassic seas about 163 million years ago.
New prep work on the fossil - first collected in the 19th century and neglected since then - allowed Foffa and colleagues to detect this hidden croc. IIeldraan melkshamensis was one of many marine crocodiles that sculled through the oceans during the Jurassic, and analysis of this new fossil - as well as others - have allowed paleontologists to better understand how this long-lost group diversified. After looking at the teeth of these crocodiles and their evolutionary relationships, for example, Foffa and colleagues determined that marine crocodiles evolved a lifestyle of feeding on large prey at least four times. Apparently there was a seaborne smorgasbord just waiting to be eaten.
Fossil Facts
Name: Ieldraan melkshamensis
Meaning: Ieldraan means "Older One" in Old English, and melkshamensis is a reference to where the fossil was found.
Age: Jurassic, about 163 million years ago.
Where in the world?: Melksham, England.
What sort of organism?: A marine crocodile called a metriorhynchid.
How much of the organism’s is known?: A damaged skull and part of the lower jaw.
References:
Foffa, D., Young, M., Brusatte, S., Graham, M., Steel, L. 2017. A new metriorhynchid crocodylomorph from the Oxford Clay Formation (Middle Jurassic) of England, with implications for the origin and diversification of Geosaurini. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. doi: 10.1080/14772019.1367730
Previous Paleo Profiles:
The Light-Footed Lizard
The Maoming Cat
Knight’s Egyptian Bat
The La Luna Snake
The Rio do Rasto Tooth
Bob Weir's Otter
Egypt's Canine Beast
The Vastan Mine Tapir
Pangu's Wing
The Dawn Megamouth
The Genga Lizard
The Micro Lion
The Mystery Titanosaur
The Echo Hunter
The Lo Hueco Titan
The Three-Branched Cicada
The Monster of Minden
The Pig-Footed Bandicoot
Hayden's Rattlesnake Demon
The Evasive Ostrich Seer
The Paradoxical Mega Shark
The Tiny Beardogs
The Armored Fish King
North America's Pangolin
The Invisible-Tusked Elephant
The Mud Dragon
The Spike-Toothed Salmon
The Dream Coast Crocodile
Buriol's Robber
Ozimek's Flyer
The Northern Naustoceratopsian
The High Arctic Flyer
The Tomatillo From the End of the World
The Short-Faced Hyena
The Mighty Traveler from Egg Mountain
Keilhau's Ichthyosaur
Mexico's Ancient Horned Face
Mauricio Fernández's Plesiosaur
New Zealand's Giant Dawn Penguin
The Orange Sea Lion
Mongolia's Ginkgo Cousin
The Geni River Frog
Isabel Berry's Dinosaur
The Whale Caiman
The Moab Lizard
Yang Zhongjian's Lizard
The Little Anubis
The Shuangbai Lizard
The Wyvern Dinosaur
The "Need Helmet" Dinosaur
The Jianianhua Dragon
The Liaoning Hunter
The Dalian Lizard
Crompton's Aleodon
Jenkins' Amphibian Serpent From the Chinle
The Large Ancestor Lizard
The Crown Tooth
Currie's Alberta Hunter
The Elephant Bird Mimic
The Crested Thief
The Hiding Hunter
The Horned Lizard
The Silk Bird
The Sieve-Toothed Plesiosaur
The Defenseless Snout
Burian's Lizard
The Small Whaitsiid
The Beautiful Bird
The Fierce Cat
Rights & Permissions
