Imagine a crocodile leaping from a tree, ambushing its prey below—sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, right? But this isn’t fiction; it’s ancient history. Scientists have uncovered Australia’s oldest crocodile eggshells, dating back a staggering 55 million years, and they may belong to the so-called ‘drop crocs’—tree-climbing predators that hunted in a way that’s both fascinating and downright bizarre. And this is the part most people miss: these eggshells were found not in some remote jungle, but in the backyard of a sheep farmer in Queensland. Talk about a backyard treasure!
Published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, the findings shed light on a long-extinct group of crocodiles called mekosuchines. These weren’t your typical crocs; they thrived in inland waters when Australia was still part of a supercontinent with Antarctica and South America. But here’s where it gets controversial: Co-author Prof Michael Archer describes the ‘drop croc’ theory as ‘bizarre,’ yet he suggests some of these creatures might have hunted like leopards, dropping from trees onto unsuspecting prey. Could this be a stretch of the imagination, or is there more to this ancient behavior than meets the eye?
Prof Archer, a palaeontologist at the University of New South Wales, explains that mekosuchines—which could grow up to five meters long—dominated Australia’s landscape 55 million years ago, long before their modern saltwater and freshwater cousins arrived around 3.8 million years ago. The eggshells themselves were discovered decades ago but were only recently analyzed with the help of Spanish scientists. ‘It’s a bizarre idea,’ Prof Archer admits, but he believes some of these crocs were ‘terrestrial hunters in the forests,’ blending arboreal agility with predatory prowess.
These findings build on earlier discoveries of younger mekosuchine fossils found in 25-million-year-old deposits elsewhere in Queensland. ‘Some were at least partly semi-arboreal ‘drop crocs’,’ Prof Archer notes, adding another layer to this intriguing puzzle. Since the 1980s, he and his team have been excavating a clay pit in Murgon, a small town 270km northwest of Brisbane, now recognized as one of Australia’s oldest fossil sites. Once surrounded by a lush forest, this area was also home to the world’s oldest-known songbirds, Australia’s earliest frogs and snakes, and a variety of small mammals with South American ties—not to mention one of the world’s oldest bats, as co-author Dr. Michael Stein points out.
Prof Archer shares a charming anecdote from 1983: ‘We drove to Murgon, parked on the side of the road, grabbed our shovels, and knocked on the door. We asked if we could dig up their backyard.’ After explaining the potential prehistoric treasures beneath their sheep paddock—and mentioning fossil turtle shells found nearby—the farmers grinned and said, ‘Of course!’ Since then, the site has yielded countless fascinating discoveries, and Prof Archer is convinced there are many more surprises waiting to be unearthed.
But here’s the burning question: If ‘drop crocs’ really existed, how did they evolve such unique hunting strategies? And what does this tell us about the ancient ecosystems of Australia? Let’s spark some debate—do you think these tree-climbing crocs were nature’s ultimate innovators, or is this theory a leap too far? Share your thoughts in the comments!