Ancient crocodile researcher (IMAGE)

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Ancient crocodile researcher

Caption

Nebraska's Will Gearty holds the skull of a porpoise, whose torpedo-like body resembles those of ancient crocodiles that spent their entire lives in the water. Gearty's research suggests that fully aquatic species got larger not because water released them from the constraints of land -- as longstanding theories have proposed -- but instead to insulate themselves against water's lower temperatures and its capacity to steal body heat.

Credit

Steve Castillo / Evolution: International Journal of Organic Evolution / Scott Schrage

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