“The greater surface area of shoe treads helps grip in wet conditions,” he says. Young likens the serrations to shoe treads. “As serrated teeth increase the efficiency of slicing into prey, our discovery may help us learn when this group of marine crocs shifted from feeding on small, fast-moving prey like small fish to large-bodied prey like turtles,” says Young. These structures may have enabled the species to change its diet. ![]() Called “pseudo-denticles”, these serrations formed on top of enamel ridges that extend to the tip of each tooth. hugii once prowled lagoons and coastlines, a team led by Mark Young of the University of Edinburgh, UK, noticed subtle, serrated structures running up the side of the teeth, never seen before in any marine crocodile species. Now it seems the Late Jurassic croc Machimosaurus hugii had teeth with a special feature for this purpose.Īfter scrutinising fossilised teeth found in Portugal and Switzerland, where M. But even for a creature 9 metres long, chomping through the wet, slippery shells of giant sea turtles isn’t easy.
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