Paleontologists have discovered a huge new mosasaur from Morocco, named Thalassotitan atrox, which filled the apex predator niche. With massive jaws and teeth like those of killer whales, Thalassotitan hunted other marine reptiles — plesiosaurs, sea turtles, and other mosasaurs. Sea monsters real
Paleontologists have discovered a huge new mosasaur from Morocco, named, which filled the apex predator niche. With massive jaws and teeth like those of killer whales,Sea monsters really existed at the end of theperiod, 66 million years ago. While dinosaurs flourished on land, enormous marine reptiles called mosasaurs ruled the seas.
Mosasaurs looked like a Komodo dragon, except with flippers instead of legs, and a shark-like tail fin. Mosasaurs became larger and more specialized in the final 25 million years of the Cretaceous period, taking niches once filled by other marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. Some evolved to eat small prey like fish and squid. Others crushed ammonites and clams.
“They tell us how life was rich and diversified just before the end of the ‘dinosaur era’, where animals had to specialize to have a place in their ecosystems.completes the picture by taking on the role of the megapredator at the top of the food chain.”
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