This 10-Foot-Long Jurassic Crocodile Once Menaced Britain's Seas

A reanalysis of a heavily damaged fossil found nearly 150 years ago has revealed the existence of an absolute monster of the ancient seas. And the discovery of the new species, nicknamed the "Melksham Monster," shows that an extinct group of ancient reptiles appeared on Earth millions of years earlier than previously thought.

Meet Leldraan melkshamensis, a 10-foot-long marine crocodile that lived 163 million years ago during the Middle Jurassic era. Not only is it a new species of ancient crocodile, it represents an entirely new genus of extinct reptiles. Prior to this discovery, scientists thought that the sub-family of prehistoric crocodiles to which this creature belonged, Geosaurini, emerged around 152 million years ago. But a reanalysis of this fossil shows that this group arose millions of years earlier, during the Middle Jurassic.

Modern crocodiles aren't directly descended from these beasts, but they do share a common ancestor. The new species, as described in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, featured long, powerful jaws and large serrated teeth which it likely used to chomp down on various prey, including prehistoric squid. Leldraan melkshamensis, which prowled the warm, shallow seas of what is now Europe, would have been one of the top aquatic predators of Jurassic Britain. Its nickname, the "Melksham Monster," comes from the English town in which it was found.

These findings were derived from a badly damaged fossil that was discovered back in 1875 in England's Oxford Clay Formation. A research team led by Davide Foffa, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, was able to identify the new species by analyzing its skull, lower jaw, and teeth.

"It's not the prettiest fossil in the world, but the Melksham Monster tells us a very important story about the evolution of these ancient crocodiles and how they became the apex predators in their ecosystem," said Foffa in a press release. "Without the amazing preparation work done by our collaborators at the Natural History Museum, it would not have been possible to work out the anatomy of this challenging specimen."

Indeed, pulling the specimen from the rock was an ordeal unto itself. The fossil was completely enveloped in a super-hard rock, with veins of calcite running through it. The preparation team, led by Mark Graham from the NHM, had to remove these minerals by force using carbon steel tipped chisels and grinding wheels equipped with industrial-grade diamonds. It took many hours and weeks, and considerable care had to be taken to avoid damaging the bits of exposed fossil.

"This was one tough old croc in life and death!" said Graham.

Saving the Endangered Cuban Crocodile

The critically endangered Cuban crocodile (Crocodylus rhombifer) has many peculiar qualities, but perhaps the most intriguing one is its curiosity. For biologists conducting fieldwork in Zapata Swamp, Cuba's largest wetland and the only place in the world where the species is found, this is a notable trait. The crocs will investigate a campsite if nothing prevents them. Protective netting is deployed to keep them out, although not always successfully. "The animal comes inside the camp looking for a warm place to sleep beneath"—referring to human bodies in hammocks, says Etiam Pérez, a Cuban crocodile researcher and manager of the Zapata Swamp Captive Breeding Farm.

Pérez is speaking to Scientific American at the farm, beside an open-air pen that holds hundreds of young, brilliant, black-and-yellow Cuban crocodiles under the fierce Caribbean sun. The tropical facility claims more than 4,000 specimens of what Pérez calls "the most beautiful crocodile in the world." Like most Cuban operations it is government-owned, and was founded 57 years ago by Fidel Castro himself. A large black-and-white photograph of Castro hangs on a wall of the facility, complete with a lengthy quotation from the late autocrat praising Cuban crocodile conservation. The animal, Pérez says, holds a kind of political and symbolic weight in Cuba, especially in in the south-central Matanzas Province, where Zapata Swamp is located.

But the crocodile's vaunted status has not prevented its decline. Overhunting in the 19th and 20th centuries coupled with deforestation from increased development in modern times has reduced its population to historic lows. Scientists estimate only around 3,000 wild crocs are left, although even that number comes largely from guesswork. Now scientists are scratching their heads over another potential threat to these reptiles: interbreeding with American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus).

The most widely distributed crocodilian species in the Americas, C. acutus, is native to Cuba (as well as the U.S.) and, unlike C. rhombifer, flourishing across the country. Scientists say the two species are morphologically, ecologically and behaviorally distinct from each other. Increased hybridization of the two poses an existential risk to the much less common Cuban species via a gradual erosion of its genetic identity. For conservation-minded scientists, this is worrying indeed. "The concern is that widespread hybridization might eliminate the unique Cuban crocodile through [such] genetic swamping," says George Amato, a conservation genomics biologist at the American Museum of Natural History.

Yoamel Milián-García, a biologist at the University of Havana, first published data on the hybridization epidemic in 2015. He analyzed scale clippings of 227 wild crocodiles and 137 farm-raised ones, finding that 49.1 percent of the wild specimens were hybrids and 16.1 percent of captive ones possessed mixed genes. "The degree of hybridization that we're seeing seems much higher than we would have predicted or imagined," Amato says. "Some people think it's the biggest threat" to these animals, he adds.

But nobody knows for sure. Hybridization could be a frightening species eraser. It could also be a normal historical process, says Amato, who has collaborated with Cuban biologists, including Milián-García and Pérez, on crocodile research there since the 1990s. Scientists simply do not have enough evolutionary or biological data yet to decide which interpretation is the right one.

Idiots swim INSIDE crocodile trap baited with pig carcasses in infested Australian waters

A GROUP of men are lucky to be alive after swimming inside a crocodile trap in a river infested with the savage predators.

The four grinning morons were pictured inside the trap - which is baited with pig carcasses - in a marina in Port Douglas, Queensland, Australia.

One of the men even climbed on top of the cage to close the gate - trapping the others inside.

The pictures emerged just a week after it was reported that the grisly remains of a woman who disappeared after wandering out of a care home were found inside the stomach of a crocodile.

Tragic dementia sufferer Anne Cameron's walking stick was discovered in dense Australian bush where the killer reptiles are known to lurk, sparking a massive croc hunt.

The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP) is now investigating the "stupid and reckless interference".

A spokesperson told ABC: "These traps are specifically designed to attract crocodiles and they are deployed in places where a problem crocodile is known to be present.

"It is extremely dangerous to interfere with a crocodile trap, regardless of whether or not there is a crocodile within.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that interfering with crocodile traps can be potentially life-threatening for the person concerned."

Environment Minister Steven Miles added: "You've got grown men swimming in a crocodile trap, exactly where we put the bait for the crocodiles.

"The trap is dangerous in and of itself, and of course if the crocodile were to appear that would be even more dangerous."

The Department of Environment has also warned of an increase in crocodiles and other predators after recent heavy rainfall and flooding.

Remains found in crocodile believed to be missing Queensland woman

Human remains have been found inside a large crocodile police believe killed an elderly woman in Queensland's far north.

Remains believed to belong to Anne Cameron, her walking stick and other items were located at Craiglie Creek, south of Port Douglas, last week.

The 79-year-old was last seen two days before the grim discovery near an aged-care facility and it is thought she became disorientated on a walk and wandered into dense bushland.

Baited traps were set along the creek and nearby Mowbray river, and wildlife officers captured a 4.3m crocodile on Monday night near Craiglie. The animal was examined in Cairns on Tuesday, with human remains found inside.

A report will now be prepared for the coroner.

Cameron's death has prompted Katter's Australian party to renew calls for more stringent management of crocodiles, including culling.

Two other people – Warren Hughes, 35, and Cindy Waldron, 46 – have been killed by crocodiles in far north Queensland in the past 18 months.

Can a crocodile stick out its tongue?

Alligators and crocodiles are often mistaken for one another – but there is one crucial difference.

It turns out crocodiles can't stick their tongues out, while alligators can.

Not only that but the tongue shape and position of a croc is completely different to a gator. That's a pretty important distinction, especially if you spot a gator type creature laying beside a path out in the Everglades in Florida. Gators can be fairly relaxed when a person walks past while a croc might snap your legs off. But why is there a difference at all? After all aren't the two creatures closely related? Here is everything you need to know.

Why can't a crocodile stick out its tongue?

Crocs have a membrane that holds their tongue in place on the roof of their mouth so it doesn't move. This makes it impossible for them to stick it outside of their narrow mouths, according to the BBC. That can be handy for the reptile when snapping its jaws shut rapidly. It wouldn't want to accidentally snap its own tongue off when eating prey. The quirk is in Nile crocodiles, American crocodiles, dwarf crocodiles and mugger crocs.

Okay what about alligators?

Alligator tongues meanwhile run along the full length of their snouts – which can be up to two feet long. At the back of their tongue they have a palatal valve, which is a piece of flesh that stops water getting in when they are submerged. It kind of acts like a seal. It also means that gators can open their mouths under water to catch prey, according to Ben Tabley, the head of herpetology at London Zoo. And yes they can stick their tongues out.

What other differences are there?

Gators and crocs can usually be distinguished from one another with the shape of their heads. Crocodiles, which are brown , have narrow snouts while gators have a much wider nose. Crocodiles have teeth in their lower jaws that protrude when the mouth is shut. Alligators, which are typically black in colour, meanwhile only show their upper teeth with their mouths closed. Both crocs and alligators live in freshwater but only crocodiles can lives in salt water because they have glads that excrete salt to allow them to survive. In Florida crocodiles are considered an endangered species while alligators are only considered a species of ‘special concern', according to Wild Florida.

Confronting the crocodile that mauled the Barefoot Bushman

As a rule, Australians hate to think of themselves as part of the food chain and we generally aren't.

How could we be when 75 percent of us live in big cities far from the rigours of the natural world?

We are the most urbanised people on earth but we claim ownership of a huge, empty continent. Yet when some of us are taken by predators after venturing into the ocean or into a tropical river, what outrage we vent against the natural world!

We so easily forget that more Australians have died or been hospitalised every year from bee stings than from crocodiles and sharks. And that 1200 people died on our roads last year.

On average, three Australians are killed by sharks every year and about the same from crocodiles. So, why the hysteria?

The days I spent shooting this story with Barefoot Bushman Rob Bred reminded me again that we share our vast continent with an extraordinary population of wonderful creatures great and small and that they have every bit as much right to the tenure of these lands as have we.

It's us who are the newcomers to this country and indeed to the planet, while crocodiles have been on earth unchanged for hundreds of millions of years.

Our fear of such awesome predators must have been hard-wired into our genes, as I immediately realised when I heard the loud, sharp and almost metallic clang of a crocodile's jaws snapping shut at close quarters.

I leapt and made comments that couldn't be broadcast.

Each time those awful jaws snapped shut I reacted to the primordial horror. Certainly, according to Charlie Darwin, I was only alive now because my ancestors had the better sense to stay well away from that terrible sound.

For me, almost 30 years of reporting on 60 Minutes has conferred some scary moments and getting into that croc enclosure in Queensland this week should have been one of the scariest.

But in this business, you calculate the odds and as an inveterate coward I figured you couldn't get up close with a monster crocodile in safer company than that of Bredl.

He has been bitten many times and has survived until now.

So sensibly I made sure to keep Rob between the crocodile and myself. After all,  I had to survive to tell the tale.