A remarkably preserved fossil from northeastern Spain is giving scientists a rare look at the skin, soft tissues, and possible coloration of an ancient crocodile relative that lived about 125 million years ago. The new study, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, provides the first detailed description of soft tissues preserved in Montsecosuchus depereti, a Lower Cretaceous crocodylomorph discovered at the Pedrera de Meià site in the province of Lleida (Catalonia, Spain). By examining the fossil under ultraviolet light, researchers uncovered new evidence about its skin, sensory structures, respiratory anatomy, and possible color pattern.
The work was led by the Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont. A Tiny Crocodile Preserved for 125 Million Years Approximately 125 million years ago, a small crocodile died in a karstic lake close to the coast of what is now the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees. Its body settled into fine lake sediments, where unusually favorable conditions helped preserve it in exceptional detail.
Over time, those sediments became the lithographic limestones of the Pedrera de Meià, now part of the UNESCO Orígens Global Geopark. The fossil, cataloged as MGB-512, is about 50 centimeters long and is housed at the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona. It was discovered more than a century ago and received some scientific attention in the 90s, but researchers have now extracted information that had remained hidden since its discovery, including the shape and distribution of its preserved soft tissues.
The breakthrough came while paleontologists Oscar Castillo and Jesús Serrano were building a database of fossils from the lithographic limestones of Montsec held in Catalan and European museums. When they examined the holotype of Montsecosuchus depereti under ultraviolet light, they noticed structures that appeared to be remnants of soft tissue. Ultraviolet light can cause fossilized tissues and the surrounding rock to respond differently, making otherwise invisible structures stand out.
"UV light allows us to see details that would otherwise remain completely hidden in the rock," explains Oscar Castillo-Visa, first author of the work. Using this technique, the team documented several kinds of soft tissue, including epidermal scales. Although Montsecosuchus depereti has been known to science since the early 20th century, the new analysis provides the first detailed picture of what its skin looked like.
The scales varied considerably in shape and size across different parts of the body. The researchers also found that the animal lacked the high caudal fin seen in modern crocodiles. The fossil may also preserve evidence of sensory organs in the skin.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
