Paleontologists in Thailand have announced the discovery of a 120-million-year-old fossil of a previously unknown species of crocodyliform that appears to have possessed feather-like filaments. This groundbreaking find challenges the traditional view of crocodilian evolution and suggests that integumentary structures may have been more widespread among early archosaurs than previously believed.
The specimen, officially named Thaichampsa penna, was found in a fine-grained sandstone layer that exceptionally preserved delicate skin impressions. This discovery provides critical data on the diversity of Cretaceous ecosystems in Southeast Asia and the complex evolutionary history of thermal regulation and display in prehistoric reptiles.