1.7" Crocodile Fossil Jaw Section With Teeth Hell Creek FM Cretaceous Age MT Riker Box
Location: Hell Creek Formation, Montana (Private Land Origin)
Weight: 3.9 Ounces (With Riker Box)
Dimensions: 4.4 Inches Long, 3.3 Inches Wide, 1.4 Inches Thick (With Riker Box)
Dimensions: 1.7 Inches Long, 1.7 Inches Wide, 1.1 Inches Thick
Comes with a free Riker Box.
The item pictured is the one you will receive.
Cretaceous Age through to the Eocene Age
There are 23 crocodilian species across three families: crocodiles (13 species), alligators (two species), caimans (six species), and gharials (two species). They inhabit 100 tropical and subtropical countries, all within 4000 kilometers of the equator.
Crocodiles are mainly Old World animals, while alligators and caimans are from the New World. Differentiating them involves looking at: 1. their relatively narrow snouts; 2. the lower teeth visible when their mouths are closed; and 3. a distinct notch on each side of the upper jaw for the lower fourth tooth. Alligators have broader, more rounded snouts, their lower teeth are hidden inside their mouths, and they lack the notch. Gharials are identifiable by their long, slender snouts.
Crocodiles have existed for 240 million years, predating the first dinosaurs by 25 million years and the first birds and mammals by 100 million years. Fossil evidence shows some ancient crocodiles reached lengths of up to 40 feet. Dr. Perran Ross, a crocodile expert and wildlife ecology professor at the University of Florida, told the New York Times, "Our primate ancestors were ratty little things that went around stealing eggs. Ancestral crocodiles had essentially the same body plan we see today, likely because it works."
Crocodiles are considered the closest living relatives of dinosaurs, sharing many features such as bird-like hip bone arrangements and teeth set in sockets rather than fused directly to the jawbone. Recent taxonomic studies suggest that dinosaurs, crocodiles, and birds should all be classified in the same evolutionary branch.
