A recently unearthed fossil specimen from Peru has provided critical insights into the evolutionary history of longirostrine (long-snouted) crocodylians. By employing an integrative methodology that synthesises fossil morphology, molecular phylogenetics (DNA analyses), and stratigraphic-geological data, researchers demonstrated that the extinct South American and Caribbean gavialids constitute a pivotal lineage for elucidating both the temporal framework and phylogenetic affinities of these reptiles. The study indicates that the extant Indian gharial (Gavialis gangeticus) and the Malaysian false gharial (Tomistoma schlegelii) diverged from a common progenitor approximately 55 million years ago. In contrast, other palaeontological representatives of long-snouted crocodylians were shown to be phylogenetically unrelated either to this clade or to extant crocodylian lineages. This discovery underscores the transformative capacity of exceptionally preserved fossils to recalibrate evolutionary trees and to resolve long-standing taxonomic ambiguities in vertebrate palaeontology.