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Web Desk – 02 May 2025: Terrestrial crocs survival in the Caribbean continued longer than previously believed, according to fossil evidence found in the Dominican Republic.
Researchers found remains of land-dwelling sebecids—extinct relatives of modern crocodiles—that lived as recently as 5–7 million years ago. Previously, the youngest sebecid fossils came from Colombia and dated back 10.5–12.5 million years.
The new fossils include two vertebrae and a tooth, resembling sebecid remains. They suggest the Caribbean was their last refuge. Some sebecids grew up to 20 feet long, though the Dominican specimen measured closer to seven feet—still large enough to dominate small prey.
“These were the kind of predators you’d imagine from the dinosaur era,” said lead study author Lazaro Viñola Lopez.
Sebecids thrived during the age of mammals, competing with terror birds and sabre-toothed marsupials in South America’s food chain. Unlike modern crocs, they lived entirely on land, with upright postures, powerful legs, deep skulls, and serrated teeth for slicing meat.
They also had bony armor (scutes) under their skin, similar to some aquatic crocodiles. Fossils from Cuba and Puerto Rico suggest terrestrial crocs may have lived in the Caribbean as early as 29 million years ago.
Researchers think a chain of islands or land bridges once connected South America to the West Indies, helping them migrate. “This shows how islands can act as biodiversity museums for terrestrial crocs survival,” Viñola Lopez said, “preserving species long extinct elsewhere.”
