They found crocodiles achieved a punctuated equilibrium, or a sort of stasis in their evolutionary journey. This theory contrasts with the idea that evolution happens over a long period of time with ...

How do crocs propel their massive bodies straight up into the air? Find out how coordinated crocodiles defy gravity with ...

First, they tracked the evolution of the head scales during the embryonic development of the Nile crocodile, which lasts about 90 days in total. While the skin covering the jaws remains smooth ...

The scales on a crocodile’s body develop through this mechanism. About a decade ago, Milinkovitch noticed that the scales on the reptile’s jaws and face differ from those on its body. He speculated ...

Although crocodiles today are carnivores ... The similarities, they discovered, are an example of convergent evolution, the independent evolution of similar traits in different species.

Crocodilians—semiaquatic reptiles comprising crocodiles, gharials ... take this protective feature to the next level with the evolution of their scales into tough plates known as scutes.