Scientists have used genetic analysis of historic specimens to determine that the crocodiles once found in the Seychelles were not a unique species but an isolated population of saltwater crocodiles. The reptiles likely reached the remote islands after drifting across the Indian Ocean. The population was wiped out within decades of permanent human settlement in 1770.
Researchers from Germany and the Seychelles compared mitochondrial DNA from modern saltwater crocodiles with samples from museum specimens of the extinct Seychelles population. The analysis confirmed that the animals belonged to the species Crocodylus porosus, known for its ability to travel long distances at sea thanks to specialized salt glands.
