WOW!!!! Fossil remains of a crocodile-like reptile called Thalattosuchia were discovered in eastern Oregon. So far 50% of the animal including the upper leg bone and rib fragments have been unearthed."This creature lived in Jurassic times, so it's 150 to 180 million years old," retired University of Oregon geologist William Orr said in a press release. Orr provided expert advice to the excavation team.
The remains they assume are about 5,000 miles from where it died, so it probably lived in Japan. The reptile is the olded ever found in Oregon, and unlikely in North America, so they assume that it was carried here by plate tectonics. As the section of Earth's crust containing the fossils moved eastward, the Pacific plate collided with the North American plate, pushing the bones into the mountains.
The 6- to 8-foot-long (1.8- to 2.4-meter-long) creature, shown in an artist's conception (top), is part of a group that scientists think represents an evolutionary transition for this line of crocodilians. Features from related fossils suggest that the animals were evolving from being semiaquatic to entirely ocean dwelling.
The remains will now go University of Iowa for further study until they are displayed in the Oregon museum.
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