Paleontologists on Wednesday presented the fossil of a young marine crocodile, 10 to 12 million years old, found in the Peruvian desert. The fossil of a gharial crocodile, or fish-eating crocodile, about three meters long (almost 10 feet) was found in excellent condition in late 2023 in Peru’s Okucaye desert, about 350 kilometers (190 miles) south of the capital Lima.

“This is the first time we have come across a young individual of this species, meaning it had not yet reached its maximum size. “It died before that,” paleontologist Mario Gamarra, an expert on vertebrates, said at a press conference.

According to Gamarra, who led the reconstruction of the fossils, the skulls and jaws of these animals were different from those of modern-day crocodiles and alligators.

“They had a long snout and their diet was all fish-eating,” says Gamarra. “The closest modern relative of this crocodile may be the Indian gharial,” he added.

The discovery was made jointly by the Peruvian Institute of Geology, Mining and Metallurgy and the School of La Union. Peru’s Okucaye Desert is rich in fossils of four-legged dwarf whales, dolphins, sharks, and other previously discovered species dating back to the Miocene period (5 to 23 million years ago).