Summary:
- Researchers have finally identified a fossil specimen that was discovered nearly 80 years ago in New Mexico. The fossil belongs to a previously unknown species of crocodile-like reptile that lived during the Triassic period, about 225 million years ago.
- The newly identified species, named Skybalonyx skapter, was a close relative of modern crocodiles and alligators, but it had a unique body shape and features that set it apart from its modern counterparts.
- The discovery of this new species provides important insights into the evolution and diversity of crocodile-like reptiles during the Triassic period, a crucial time in the history of life on Earth when many of the major groups of animals we know today were just beginning to emerge.