How Crocodylian Ancestors Survived Two Mass Extinctions

Crocodylians are surviving members of a 230-million-year lineage called crocodylomorphs, a group that includes living crocodylians (i.e. crocodiles, alligators and gharials) and their many extinct relatives. Crocodylian ancestors persisted through two mass extinction events: the end-Triassic mass extinction (201.4 million years ago) and the end-Cretaceous mass extinction (about 66 million years ago) — a feat requiring evolutionary agility to adapt to a rapidly changed world. One secret to crocodylian longevity is their remarkably flexible lifestyles, both in what they eat and the habitat in which they get it.

Crocodylians are surviving members of a 230-million-year lineage called crocodylomorphs, a group that includes living crocodylians (i.e. crocodiles, alligators and gharials) and their many extinct relatives. Crocodylian ancestors persisted through two mass extinction events: the end-Triassic mass extinction (201.4 million years ago) and the end-Cretaceous mass extinction (about 66 million years ago) — a feat requiring evolutionary agility to adapt to a rapidly changed world. One secret to crocodylian longevity is their remarkably flexible lifestyles, both in what they eat and the habitat in which they get it.