“Aquatic hypercarnivores, terrestrial generalists, terrestrial hypercarnivores, terrestrial herbivores—crocodylomorphs evolved a massive number of ecological roles throughout the time of the dinosaurs,” added Melstrom.
However, during the Late Cretaceous, this incredible diversity began to wane.
At the time of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction, the survivors were largely the semiaquatic generalists and some aquatic carnivores – the ancestors of the crocodilians we see today.
This research involved a large-scale effort, with the authors examining skulls from 99 extinct crocodylomorph species and 20 living crocodylian species across numerous museum collections worldwide.
The team says that dietary flexibility might be crucial for the survival of critically endangered species like the Gharial and Cuban Crocodile amidst the current potential sixth mass extinction.