THIS 10-FOOT-LONG CROCODILE IS AN ENTIRELY NEW SPECIES TO SCIENCE
Scientists have identified a new species of crocodile in New Guinea—the world's second-largest island—that measures up to ten feet in length, according to a study.
Researchers already knew about one crocodile that is unique to the tropical island—the New Guinea Crocodile (Crocodylus novaeguineae) first described in 1928.
But now Chris Murray from Southeastern Louisiana University and Caleb McMahan from the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago have found sufficient differences between two groups of Crocodylus novaeguineae living in the north and south of the island, respectively, to identify one as a new species.
Murray and McMahan decided to investigate the issue after hearing about research carried out by the late scientist Philip Hall from the University of Florida, who had documented important differences in the nesting and mating behavior of the New Guinea crocodiles living in the north and south of the island.
For a study published in the journal Copeia, the researchers examined 51 skulls from animals previously thought to represent the species Crocodylus novaeguineae that were being kept at several museums across the U.S.
They then inspected live New Guinea crocodiles housed at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park in Florida to see if the variations they had identified in the skulls could be seen in real life. Eventually, they were able to discern noticeable differences between crocodiles from the north and south of the island.
https://www.newsweek.com/10-foot-long-crocodile-new-species-science-1461064?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=NewsweekTwitter
= new reply since forum marked as read
