Discoveries of Massive Crocodile-Like Carnivore Fossils Unveiled in the Caribbean

Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound. That’s the sebecid, a giant predator that roamed South America long after the dinosaurs disappeared. These impressive creatures could grow to 20 feet long and were top hunters until they vanished about 11 million years ago. Or at least, that’s what scientists believed—until recently.

This mystery began when paleontologists discovered unusual fossilized teeth in the Caribbean. Jonathan Bloch, a curator at the Florida Museum of Natural History, recalls their surprise at finding these ancient remains. “What are they?” was the question on everyone’s mind when teeth unearthed in the Dominican Republic and Cuba sparked curiosity.

Scientists had already found two ancient teeth in Cuba dating back around 18 million years. These teeth were clearly from a fierce predator, hinting at the existence of large land animals in the region. However, that theory was hard to prove without more evidence. Another tooth found in Puerto Rico, dating back 29 million years, added to the confusion.

The breakthrough came in early 2023 with the discovery of a tooth and two vertebrae in the Dominican Republic. This time, researchers confidently identified the remains as belonging to a sebecid. This finding suggests that the Caribbean was home to these apex predators long after they had disappeared from other areas, lasting at least 5 million years longer.

Lazaro Viñola Lopez, the study’s lead author, described the thrill of discovering the fossils. “That emotion of finding the fossil and realizing what it is, it’s indescribable,” he said. Sebecids were unique among their crocodilian relatives. Unlike most crocodiles, they lived on land, hunted like carnivorous dinosaurs, and displayed features like long limbs and sharp teeth.

After the extinction of nonavian dinosaurs, sebecids quickly rose to the top of the food chain in South America. However, the ocean separating the Caribbean from South America posed a significant barrier. This leads to the GAARlandia hypothesis, suggesting that a series of land bridges or islands might have allowed these creatures to reach the Caribbean.

If the teeth found across various Caribbean islands also belonged to sebecids, it means these prehistoric giants played a crucial role in shaping the region’s ecosystems for millions of years. Today, finding evidence of such massive predators is rare, as smaller animals like snakes and birds dominate the area.

Bloch emphasizes how surprising this discovery is: “You wouldn’t have been able to predict this looking at the modern ecosystem.” The absence of large predators has changed the landscape significantly, making the research even more fascinating as scientists look to uncover more secrets in the fossil record.

Islands often act as biodiversity “museums,” preserving species that have vanished from mainlands. The tropical Caribbean, teeming with life, still holds many mysteries. Local paleontologists have begun exploring areas that were once overlooked. Instead of restricted cave sites, they are searching for older fossils, which require effort and a bit of luck.

Viñola-Lopez highlights how essential timing is in fossil discovery. The rocky landscapes where fossils are found don’t last long. “Outcrops don’t last too long, so you go there when you can,” he explains. Recently, a road construction in the Dominican Republic led to the discovery of the sebecid fossils by graduate student Elson Core, who was conducting research in the area.

This discovery adds to a growing list of recent findings in the Caribbean, including the region’s first mosasaur record and the oldest ground sloth fossils in Hispaniola. Additionally, research into how human arrival affected local species, like the extinction of native rodents, adds to the tapestry of this wildlife narrative. As Viñola-Lopez aptly puts it, “The sebecid is only the tip of the iceberg.”

To learn more about this fascinating research, you can check out the study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

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