Scientists have identified a new species of land-dwelling crocodylomorph from 215 million years ago in Gloucester, UK. Named Galahadosuchus jonesi, the reptile had a slender, greyhound-like build for fast movement on land. The discovery honors a schoolteacher who inspired the lead researcher.
A team of researchers, led by Ewan Bodenham, a PhD student at the Natural History Museum London and UCL, has described a new species of early crocodile relative from the Late Triassic period. The fossils, dating to about 215 million years ago, come from fissure deposits on both sides of the Bristol Channel in southern Wales and southwest England, including Gloucester, UK. These deposits preserved animals washed into underground cavities from a dry, upland landscape surrounded by hot plains at the time. The creature, named Galahadosuchus jonesi, differed from modern crocodiles by living entirely on land and possessing long, slender legs and a lightweight frame suited for speed, resembling a reptilian greyhound. It likely hunted small reptiles, amphibians, and early mammals amid vegetation. Bodenham's analysis revealed 13 distinct anatomical differences from Terrestrisuchus, another land-dwelling crocodylomorph from the same deposits, confirming it as a new species. The name draws from Galahad, the Arthurian knight symbolizing upright posture, and David Rhys Jones, Bodenham's secondary school physics teacher at Ysgol Uwchradd Aberteifi in Cardigan, Wales. 'We named it after my secondary school physics teacher,' Bodenham said. 'Mr. Jones was just such a good teacher, not only in being able to explain things well, but you could tell that he was genuinely interested in the sciences. I think that really inspired me.' This find contributes to understanding Late Triassic ecosystems just before the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction, linked to volcanic activity and climate changes. The species belongs to Saltoposuchidae and highlights locomotory diversity among early crocodylomorphs. The description appears in the journal The Anatomical Record.