look at its head and throat anatomy.
Modern crocodiles have nostrils turned in reverse to most other animals, situated atop their snout. They are used for breathing when the crocodile is in the water. They also have a palatal valve in their throat that can be used to allow the croc to
breathe through its mouth when on shore. On land, the valve is open. Once in the water, the valve closes, keeping water in the mouth from entering the lungs. The researchers were not able to see a palatal valve, of course; its fleshy makeup was lost long
ago. But they did find skull features similar to a modern crocodile and a structure in the roof of its mouth that appeared similar to that in modern crocs. They also found a short bone that in modern crocs supports the tongue. Taken together, the
researchers suggest the evidence is strong for a palatal valve. The finding could help to explain how goniopholidid's survived the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs—they were able to stay in the water, even while feeding
https://phys.org/news/2021-12-goniopholidid-species-upper-jurassic-palatal.html
--- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
* Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)