All articles tagged with #sea monster
Scientists discovered a new genus and species of prehistoric sea monster, Traskasaura sandrae, in North America, dating back 85 million years. This long-necked plesiosaur had unique features, including primitive and advanced traits, and was likely an efficient predator of ammonites. The fossils, found in British Columbia, have been officially recognized and are now displayed at the Courtenay and District Museum.
A nearly complete skull of a pliosaur, an ancient sea monster, has been discovered on the cliffs of Dorset's Jurassic Coast in the UK. The 2-meter-long fossil, with 130 razor-sharp teeth, provides new insights into the predator that lived 150 million years ago. The pliosaur is described as an underwater T. rex, measuring 10-12 meters in length with powerful limbs. The excavation, conducted after a drone survey, revealed the pliosaur's powerful bite and acute senses, including a third eye for locating prey in murky waters.
Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, an extinct large aquatic lizard, measuring approximately 24 feet long. Named Jormungander Walhallaensi after a sea serpent from Norse mythology, the creature lived during the late Cretaceous period. The fossil was found in Walhalla, North Dakota in 2015 and took over eight years to identify. The species exhibits transitional traits between two other well-known mosasaur species and provides insights into the evolutionary timeline of these creatures. Mosasaurs are believed to have become extinct during the asteroid strike that killed the dinosaurs.
Paleontologists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a giant sea reptile that lived 80 million years ago. Named Jormungandr walhallaensis after a sea serpent in Norse mythology and the city in North Dakota where the fossil was found, this mosasaur had "angry eyebrows" caused by a bony ridge on its skull and measured about 7 meters (24 feet) in length. It is a unique combination of features seen in two other well-known mosasaurs, Clidastes and Mosasaurus. The discovery sheds light on the evolution and diversity of these ancient sea monsters.
Fossilized remains of a pliosaur, an unknown species of Jurassic predator, have been discovered in an English museum. The four bones are vertebrae and show that the creatures could grow almost 50 feet long, twice the size of an orca. Pliosaurs were the ocean’s biggest predators during the Jurassic period and likely preyed on ichthyosaurs, long-necked plesiosaurs, and smaller marine crocodiles. The finding drastically revises previous estimates for the scale of the prehistoric monsters.
Fossilized remains of a "truly gigantic" pliosaur, an ancient sea monster, have been discovered in an English museum. The four bones are vertebrae from an unknown species of Jurassic predator and show that the creatures could grow almost 50 feet long, twice the size of an orca. The new finding drastically revises previous estimates for the scale of the prehistoric monsters. Pliosaurs were the ocean’s biggest predators during the Jurassic period and were likely ambush predators, leaping out at prey from deep and dark water and impaling them with dagger-sharp teeth, before crushing them with a bite more powerful than a Tyrannosaurus rex's.