Over the last thirty years, paleontologists have discovered sharp, prehistoric teeth on Caribbean islands. Interestingly, these teeth belong to large land predators that experts believed never existed there.
A team of international researchers revealed that millions of years ago, a tall, crocodile-like predator known as a sebecid roamed the Caribbean. This creature survived until about five million years ago, long after its South American relatives vanished around 11 million years ago. This evidence supports the theory that land bridges or chains of islands once linked the Caribbean to South America.
In 2023, a fossilized tooth along with two vertebrae were found in the Dominican Republic, helping scientists identify these remains as sebecids. A study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B dated the fossils between 7.14 and 4.57 million years ago, which is more than three million years after their South American relatives disappeared. “The moment I realized what the fossil was, it was indescribable,” said Lazaro Viñola Lopez, the lead author and paleobiologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History.
Some sebecids, known for their greyhound-like build, could grow up to 20 feet (6.1 meters) long. They were carnivores, hunting down prey with their long legs. In South America, these predators were the only ones of their kind to survive the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs 66 million years ago. With lesser competition, sebecids quickly became top predators.
So, how did these land-based hunters make it to Caribbean islands? Researchers align their findings with the GAARlandia hypothesis, suggesting that ancient land bridges or island chains enabled animals like sebecids to reach the Caribbean. When these connections faded away, the sebecids became isolated, escaping the fate of their South American relatives.
If further research confirms that other mysterious teeth found on islands also belong to sebecids, it hints at their significant role in the region’s ecology for millions of years. “You wouldn’t predict this by looking at today’s ecosystem,” noted Jonathan Bloch, co-author of the study and curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Nowadays, most Caribbean predators, like birds and snakes, are much smaller.
This study highlights how the past can surprise us, reminding us of an ancient world filled with extraordinary creatures. The implications of these findings stretch across ecology and evolutionary history, urging us to rethink the dynamics of predator populations over time.
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crocodiles,large predators,Paleontology