{"id":165058,"date":"2025-09-24T04:36:13","date_gmt":"2025-09-24T04:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/165058\/"},"modified":"2025-09-24T04:36:13","modified_gmt":"2025-09-24T04:36:13","slug":"double-delight-scientists-discover-two-new-crocodile-species-on-mexican-islands-and-they-were-hiding-in-plain-sight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/165058\/","title":{"rendered":"Double delight: Scientists discover two new crocodile species on Mexican islands, and they were hiding in plain sight! |"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a surprising find, scientists have identified two new crocodile species inhabiting Mexico’s Caribbean coast. These crocodiles, found on Cozumel Island and Banco Chinchorro, were previously mistaken as American crocodiles. Genetic and anatomical analysis revealed significant differences, highlighting the region’s hidden biodiversity. There are places around the world where hidden life waits patiently, unrecognized, until science pulls back the veil. The planet is home to an estimated 8.7 million animal species, yet only about 1.2 million have been formally described. Every year, perhaps 18,000 species are added to that list, many of which are small creatures such as insects, worms, or tiny spiders, but surprisingly, scientists have come across a new species that is far from a tiny being.<\/p>\n

New crocodile species!<\/p>\n

Two previously unknown species of crocodiles in the Caribbean coast of Mexico have been discovered, bringing some attention to the diversity of New World crocodiles and the urgent need for conservation.These species live on Cozumel Island and Banco Chinchorro, an atoll off the Yucat\u00e1n Peninsula. What was once thought to be American crocodile across these locations now appears to be two distinct species.\"Photo<\/p>\n

Photo via McGill University<\/p>\n

The discovery comes from a study<\/a> titled \u201cNovel island species elucidate a species complex of Neotropical crocodiles\u201d by Jos\u00e9 Avila\u2010Cervantes and Hans C. E. Larsson et al., published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution in 2025. Researchers used genetic sequencing across crocodile populations from the Caribbean, Central America, and Mexico\u2019s Pacific coast, as well as anatomical data such as skull shape. Populations from Cozumel and Banco Chinchorro showed \u201cstriking levels of genetic differentiation,\u201d leading the researchers to conclude that they are not merely variants of Crocodylus acutus.<\/p>\n

They remained hidden in plain sight<\/p>\n

\"American<\/p>\n

American Crocodile (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n

\u201cThese results were totally unexpected,\u201d lead author Jos\u00e9 Avila-Cervantes said. \u201cWe assumed Crocodylus acutus was a single species ranging from Baja California to Venezuela and across the Caribbean. Our study is the first to extensively explore genomic and anatomical variation in these animals.\u201d Senior author Hans Larsson said, \u201cBiodiversity is disappearing faster than we can discover what we\u2019re losing. Most species of crocodiles are already endangered, and rapid shoreline development threatens nearly every population. Our research aimed to uncover the true diversity of crocodiles on these isolated islands.\u201d<\/p>\n

They are vulnerable<\/p>\n

The population likely has fewer than 1,000 breeding individuals, with effective population sizes possibly under 500. Although the populations appear stable for now, their isolation and limited range mean they are especially vulnerable. Key threats include shoreline development, tourism (especially on Cozumel), and habitat pressures in the region.\"American<\/p>\n

American Crocodile (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)<\/p>\n

Until the discovery, there were four known species of New World (Neotropical) crocodiles: the American, Morelet\u2019s, Cuban, and Orinoco crocodiles. With these two additions, that number rises to six. The new species have not yet been formally named. The researchers suggest that names referencing their island habitats might be appropriate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a surprising find, scientists have identified two new crocodile species inhabiting Mexico’s Caribbean coast. These crocodiles, found…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":165059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,108597,108595,108596,108594,108593,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-165058","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-banco-chinchorro","11":"tag-cozumel-island-crocodiles","12":"tag-crocodile-biodiversity","13":"tag-endangered-crocodiles","14":"tag-new-crocodile-species","15":"tag-science","16":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=165058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/165058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=165058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=165058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=165058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}