{"data":{"id":2384,"lang":"en","title":"UV Light Reveals 125-Million-Year-Old Crocodile's Skin, Senses and Hidden Camouflage","summary":"UV light exposed preserved skin, sensory organs and what may be the oldest known coloration pattern in a crocodile relative, hidden in a fossil for over a century.","category":"science","category_label":"Science","published_at":"2026-09-16T18:01:25Z","updated_at":"2026-09-16T18:01:25Z","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/article/2384-uv-light-reveals-125-million-year-old-crocodile-s-skin-senses-and-hidden","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2384?lang=en","markdown_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2384.md?lang=en","image_url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/images/1920/montsecosuchus-depereti-under-ultraviolet-light.webp","word_count":208,"reading_time_minutes":2,"sources":[{"url":"https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/09/260914102436.htm","domain":"sciencedaily.com"},{"url":"https://www.earth.com/news/125-million-year-old-crocodile-fossil-montsecosuchus-depereti-preserves-skin-cartilage-and-tail-markings-eric-does-images/","domain":"earth.com"}],"translation":{"lang":"cs","id":2457,"title":"UV světlo odhalilo kůži, smysly i skrytý maskovací vzor 125 milionů let starého krokodýla","url":"https://techtools.cz/tools/news/clanek/2457-uv-svetlo-odhalilo-kuzi-smysly-i-skryty-maskovaci-vzor-125-milionu-let-stareho","api_url":"https://techtools.cz/news-api/v1/articles/2457?lang=cs"},"content":"A fossil that sat in a Spanish museum collection for more than a century has given up a remarkable secret: patches of preserved skin, sensory organs and ancient coloration, all revealed under ultraviolet light. The specimen belongs to Montsecosuchus depereti, a small crocodylomorph about 50 centimeters long that died roughly 125 million years ago in a karstic lake near what is now the Catalan Pre-Pyrenees.\n\nResearchers led by Oscar Castillo-Visa and Jesus Serrano at the Institut Catala de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont, working with the University of New England's Phil Bell, found epidermal scales that varied across the body, cartilaginous chest structures pointing to sophisticated respiratory anatomy, and possible sensory organs around the neck, limbs and flanks that may have detected touch, pressure and chemical signals. Most striking was a pattern of alternating light and dark bands on the tail -- potentially the oldest known preserved coloration in a crocodylomorph, and likely a form of disruptive camouflage.\n\nThe fossil, cataloged as MGB-512 and held at the Museum of Natural Sciences of Barcelona, had been in storage since its discovery, its soft-tissue details invisible under normal light. The findings, published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, show how UV imaging can unlock decades-old museum specimens without any new excavation."}}