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Locked in stone for 210 million years, this newly identified crocodile cousin was built to crush larger prey

Phys · · 866 words · By Jim Shelton

Yale paleontologists have identified a new species of prehistoric crocodile relative, Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa, from fossils found in New Mexico. The discovery, based on CT scans of specimens from the Peabody Museum, suggests that ecological specialization among early crocodylomorphs occurred 210 million years ago.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-04-stone-million-years-newly-crocodile.html

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10%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 95%
Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

12 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

check_circle Corroborated 4
verified Verified By Reference 3
info Single Source 2
schedule Pending 2
help Insufficient Evidence 1
info
“two crocodile cousins about the size of jackals stood side-by-side amid the low ferns of a humid riverbank that would one day become northern New Mexico”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of dictionary definitions of the word 'two' and does not provide any factual information about crocodile fossils in New Mexico. While other claims in the set mention these fossils, this specific claim's evidence is irrelevant.
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web search NEUTRAL — Two is a noun when it refers to the number two as in two plus two is four. The word two is derived from the Old English words twā (feminine), tū (neuter), and twēġen (masculine, which survives today i…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — 2 (Two; / ˈtuː / (listen ⓘ)) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the number after 1 (one), followed by 3 (three), then 4 (four). In Roman numerals, it is II. It is also now a modern staple numeral,…
https://simple.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2_(number)
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web search NEUTRAL — The meaning of TWO is being one more than one in number. How to use two in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/two
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“One of the crocs, Hesperosuchus agilis, had a long snout, large back legs, and smaller, thinner arms.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm Hesperosuchus agilis as an extinct crocodylomorph from New Mexico. One specific source describes its skull as having a 'long, apparently narrow snout', which corroborates the claim's description.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Hesperosuchus is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph reptile that contains a single species, Hesperosuchus agilis. Remains of this pseudosuchian have been found in Late Triassic strata from Arizona and…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesperosuchus
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Hesperosuchus agilis had a slender and agile build, which is reflected in its name “agilis,” meaning agile. The fossilized remains of Hesperosuchus agilis were discovered in what is now New Mexico, US…
https://www.tiktok.com/@biosomnium/video/7271370199306112299
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — The skull has a long, apparently narrow snout and a trans- versely broad temporal region. We estimate its original length to be about 195 mm when measured along the midline of the skull roof from the …
https://www.academia.edu/14898194/A_new_specimen_of_Hesperos…
info
“Both crocs died in the same instant, apparently the result of a natural disaster such as a sudden mudslide or flash flood.”
SINGLE SOURCE
One web search result explicitly repeats the phrasing 'Both crocs died in the same instant, apparently the result of a natural disaster such as a sudden mudslide or flash flood.' However, the other provided evidence (National Geographic, Wikipedia) provides general information about floods or New Mexico and does not corroborate this specific event.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The flag of the U.S. state of New Mexico, also referred to as the New Mexican flag and Zia Banner, is a state flag, consisting of a sacred red sun symbol of the Zia tribe on a field of gold (yellow). …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_New_Mexico
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — New Mexico is a landlocked state in the Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Questa is a village in Taos County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2020 census, Questa had a population of 1,742. The village has trails into the Rio Grande Gorge, trout fishing, and mountain la…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Questa,_New_Mexico
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“their bones preserved thanks to fortuitous geochemical forces—right on through the "Age of Reptiles," the rise of mammals that followed, and the crocs' eventual excavation within large blocks of rock that are part of the collections of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms that the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale is a prolific university natural history museum. While the specific rock blocks aren't detailed in the snippet, the museum's existence and role as a repository for such collections are verified.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Museum_of_Natural_His…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Harvard Museum of Natural History (HMNH) is a natural history museum housed in the University Museum Building, located on the campus of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It features …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvard_Museum_of_Natural_Hist…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Yale Peabody Museum at Yale University (also known as the Peabody Museum of Natural History or the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History) is one of the oldest, largest, and most prolific universi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peabody_Museum_of_Natural_Hist…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“a team of Yale paleontologists came to identify the short-snouted croc as a separate species, which they've named Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa in a new study.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Wikipedia and two web search results) confirm the identification of a new species named Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa from the Late Triassic of New Mexico, noting its short snout and distinction from Hesperosuchus.
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web search NEUTRAL — Eosphorosuchus (lit. 'Eosphoros crocodile') is an extinct genus of early crocodylomorph pseudosuchian known from the Late Triassic (Rhaetian age) Chinle Formation of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, United St…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosphorosuchus
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web search NEUTRAL — Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa, a newly identified early crocodile relative from the Late Triassic of New Mexico, exhibited a short snout, reinforced skull, and expanded jaw muscles adapted for consuming la…
https://phys.org/news/2026-04-stone-million-years-newly-croc…
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web search NEUTRAL — Researchers named the new species Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa. The new species suggests that long before crocodiles took to the water, their terrestrial relatives were already showing signs of ecological…
https://www.zmescience.com/science/paleontology/this-triassi…
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“senior author of the new study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.”
CORROBORATED
The existence of the journal 'Proceedings of the Royal Society B' is verified. One source explicitly links the description of Eosphorosuchus lacrimosa to a study, and another mentions the species in a 2026 context, though the specific journal link is implied by the context of the study's publication.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fossil archosaur research published in 2026 includes the description of new taxa, as well as other peer-reviewed publications on discoveries related to reptile paleontology.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_in_archosaur_paleontology
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Crocodilia () is an order of semiaquatic, predatory reptiles that are known as crocodilians. They appeared 83.5 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period (Campanian stage) and are the closest li…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodilia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eosphorosuchus (lit. 'Eosphoros crocodile') is an extinct genus of early crocodylomorph pseudosuchian known from the Late Triassic (Rhaetian age) Chinle Formation of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, United St…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosphorosuchus
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“During this period, the late Triassic, there were two reptile dynasties vying for dominance: the line that would produce crocodiles and alligators on one side, and that which would produce birds, which of course are dinosaurs, on the other”
CORROBORATED
Web search results confirm that during the Triassic, the ancestors of modern crocodiles diverged from the lineage that led to dinosaurs (which include birds) and that both belonged to the Archosauria clade.
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web search NEUTRAL — Here are these alternatives: During the Triassic ornithischians were extremely rare and theropods were only secondary predators compared to the pseudosuchians. But sauropodomorphs were far more succes…
https://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G204/lectures/204dinos.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Both dates are gaining accuracy by using more accurate forms of radiometric dating, in particular the decay of uranium to lead in zircons formed at time of the impact. So, the evidence suggests the Ma…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triassic
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web search NEUTRAL — Are crocodiles older than dinosaurs? No, they both belong to the Archosauria clade and evolved around the same time. However, the ancestors of modern crocodiles diverged from the lineage that led to d…
https://animalvivid.com/are-crocodiles-and-alligators-dinosa…
verified
“Such is the case in Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, where dozens of near-crocodiles, lizard relatives, fish, and dinosaurs (most prominently, the carnivorous Coelophysis bauri) have been discovered”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia confirms Ghost Ranch is in New Mexico and that Coelophysis and Tawa (theropod dinosaurs) have been discovered there. The claim's mention of 'near-crocodiles' and 'lizard relatives' is consistent with the paleontological nature of the site.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Coelophysis (from Ancient Greek κοῖλος (koilos), "hollow", and φύσεις (fysis), "form") is an extinct genus of coelophysid theropod dinosaurs that lived approximately 215 to 201.4 million years ago dur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coelophysis
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Ghost Ranch is a 21,000-acre (85 km2) retreat and education center in Rio Arriba County in north central New Mexico, United States. It is about 65 miles northwest of Santa Fe and 14 miles from Abiquiu…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_Ranch
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tawa (named after the Hopi word for the Puebloan sun god) is a genus of possible basal theropod dinosaurs from the Late Triassic period. The fossil remains of Tawa hallae, the type and only species we…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tawa_hallae
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
“Two sections of excavated rock from the "Ghost Ranch Bone Bed"—together about the size of a car—are at the Yale Peabody Museum.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim includes Wikipedia entries for Elmo, Kansas, and Warren K. Moorehead, which are irrelevant to the Yale Peabody Museum's specific rock blocks from Ghost Ranch.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Warren King Moorehead (March 10, 1866 – January 5, 1939) was an American archaeologist and writer who worked on excavating and surveying various Native American sites, including Fort Ancient. Moorehea…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warren_K._Moorehead
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Elmo is an unincorporated community in Dickinson County, Kansas, United States. Elmo is located 15 miles (24 km) south of Abilene at the northwestern corner of the intersection of K-4 and K-15.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elmo,_Kansas
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Eosphorosuchus (lit. 'Eosphoros crocodile') is an extinct genus of early crocodylomorph pseudosuchian known from the Late Triassic (Rhaetian age) Chinle Formation of Ghost Ranch, New Mexico, United St…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eosphorosuchus
help
“Excavated in 1948, the fossil has been known to science for three-quarters of a century”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was provided for this claim in the search results.
schedule
“Miranda Margulis-Ohnuma, a Ph.D. student in Earth and planetary sciences in Yale's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences (GSAS), began to work on a computed tomography (CT) scan of the crocodile, performed at the Yale Chemical and Biophysical Imaging Center by former Peabody Museum senior preparator Marilyn Fox”
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“Miranda Margulis-Ohnuma et al, A short-snouted 'sphenosuchian' with unusual feeding anatomy demonstrates that ecological specialization occurred early in crocodylomorph evolution, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences (2026). DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2026.0130”
PENDING
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.