Pakistan, May 3 -- Scientists from Canada's McGill University have discovered two previously unknown crocodile species off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. The new species, found on Cozumel Island and Banco Chinchorro, are genetically and anatomically distinct from the well-known American crocodile (Crocodylus acutus).

According to the study published in Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, these populations were long thought to belong to a single species. However, differences in DNA and skull structure-such as longer, broader snouts in Banco Chinchorro crocodiles-prompted researchers to reclassify them. The discovery raises the number of known New World crocodile species to six.

Despite the breakthrough, scientists warn that both species ...