Polish paleontologists have discovered fossilized remains of a crocodile around 17 million years old in southwestern Poland, which represents an extremely rare find for this part of Europe.
The remains were found in a coal mine near the town of Gozdnica in the Lower Silesia region, and according to experts, it is a species that lived during the Middle Miocene, a geological period that lasted from about 23 to 5 million years ago.
The fossils include parts of the skull, teeth, and parts of the skeleton, and preliminary analyses suggest that it is a crocodile from the gharial family or its close relative. These crocodiles lived at that time in a warmer and more humid climate, which prevailed in Europe.
Scientists state that this discovery is important because it sheds new light on how these reptiles spread through Europe and adapted to changes in the environment. They also emphasize that the finds of this species in Europe can be counted on the fingers of one hand, which makes this discovery extremely significant for European paleontology.
The discovery represents the northernmost evidence of crocodiles from the Miocene era.
The research continues, and the team hopes that further excavations will uncover more fossil material that could help in more precisely determining the species and reconstructing its living environment.
