A new paper today in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B chronicles the discovery of a new dyrosaurid crcodylomorph from South America, even thought the family is known from Africa. This suggests that before the K/T Extinction event, these crocodiles invaded the Atlantic Ocean and covered the distance between the two continents, even migrating upwards to North America during the Paleocene. Although I told Will that I thought this new croc was closer to geosaurs than modern crocs, a mere glance at the life restoration (above) makes me think differently. I am no expert on Crurotarsian phylogeny, though, so if somebody can enlighten me about Neosuchian relationships, I'd appreciate it!
And check out the paper! It is, for now at least, open access.
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