ARE CROCODILES AND THEIR RELATIVES REALLY UNCHANGED “LIVING FOSSILS?
No. So-called “living fossils” are never identical to the relatives that lived millions of years ago. They just look very similar. Crocodilians have maintained the same basic body plan over millions of years because it works so well. But they have undergone changes. Over time, crocodilians evolved a bony palate, their internal nostrils were pushed further back, and their spool-shaped vertebrae went from being biconcave to having a concave front and a convex back–a change that makes the vertebral column more flexible and strong. These subtle changes made crocodilians formidable underwater predators.
