Australian crocodile stones hold key to dinosaur past

A Japanese crocodile researcher is in Australia's northern territory to prove the link between modern crocodiles, dinosaurs and birds.

Hokkaido University crocodile stone researcher Ryuji Takasaki is in Darwin to compare the stones found in dinosaurs with those found in crocodile stomachs, though the role of the stones remains unclear.

"I personally believe that they [eat] those stones for helping digestion inside stomachs," Takasaki told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation on Thursday.

Takasaki is investigating whether dinosaurs, birds and crocodiles developed the system of using stones for digestion independently or if it was a result of evolution.

"We want to know if the same system of digestion was started from crocodiles and evolved in dinosaurs and then to birds or there is some other stories," Takasaki said.

According to Takasaki, it was understood by many researchers that crocodiles are the evolutionary ancestors of birds. Endi