The world's oldest
Crocodile Eggs were discovered over several years during scientific excavations of a dinosaur nest according to the recent published scientific report on the findings. These eggs were found in the cliffs of western Portugal, close to the village of Lourinha, north of the capital city of Lisbon.
Crocodiles were believed to have arisen around 200 million years ago and that they prowled the Earth with early dinosaurs. The crocodile eggs that were found in Portugal are estimated to have been laid 152 million years old and are from the Late Jurassic period.
They are in such good condition the eggs can give researchers some insight into what the mother crocodile that laid them was like.
A puzzling discovery
Paleontologists that are studying the eggs estimate that the mother crocodile had probably been around 2 meters (6.56 feet) in length based on the size of the larger eggs. The eggs were found in several clutches and they seem to be two different types. It is important to note that these eggs looked extremely similar their modern counterparts, suggesting that there has been little change in the last 152 million years. One mystery about the discovery that is puzzling is why the eggs were found in a dinosaur nest, however.
What could this discovery mean?
The crocodile eggs found in Portugal are about 40 million years older than any previously known crocodile egg. Paleontologists known that the eggs were laid by crocodylomorphs, who are close relatives of today's "true" crocodiles. From fossil records that have been previously found scientists know that crocodiles and their ancient relatives were much more diverse in terms of their structure, ecology and feeding habits, among other traits.
However, finding eggs from the ancient relatives of the crocodile family is much rarer and are usually fragmented. These eggs in contrast, are in good shape and could easily farther help paleontologists learn more about how crocodiles developed and what their ancient relatives were like.
