Ancestor of African crocodiles discovered in Morocco, US scientist

The “Shieldcroc”, a prehistoric crocodile whose fossilized skull was discovered in Morocco, is the most ancient African crocodile, Casey Holliday, an American scientist from the Missouri University and author of the discovery said.

The 9 meter-long Shieldcroc has lived about 95 million years ago, according to news broadcast by the US media.

“This discovery shows that the ancestors of crocodiles as we know them today were more diversified than we scientists believed,” said Holliday who is also a professor at a medical school. “This sheds light on the evolution of crocodiles”.

Shieldcroc’s thick-skinned shielded head could have measured up to a meter and a half long