December 26, 2023 – 22:30 – Morocco
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Researchers in Morocco and Japan have discovered fossil remains of mosasaurs, a fearsome aquatic reptile that dominated the oceans until the Cretaceous period.
The specimen found in Morocco by researchers from the University of Bath is named Thalassotitan atrox. It is considered one of the most dangerous aquatic predators, as it is slightly smaller in size but equipped with conical teeth that pose a great danger to prey, according to reports. Journal of Systematic Paleontology. The mosasaur is described as “a sort of cross between a Komodo dragon, a great white shark, a T-Rex, and a killer whale,” according to one of the paleontologists involved in the discovery.
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In Asia, paleontologists found Megapterygius wakayamaensi near the Aridagawa River, on the southwestern Japanese island of Honshu. This massive fossil, about 72 million years old, was 5 meters long (and can reach 17 meters in length in adults, making it one of the longest known reptiles), had 121 vertebrae, a skull 70 centimeters long and weighed about 14 tons. . The mosasaurus had a dolphin-like body, a crocodile-like mouth, four paddle-shaped flippers and a long tail.
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Unlike other mosasaurs, this specimen had no dorsal fin and its hind flippers were longer than the front flippers. This predator hunted in the planet's warmest waters between 100 and 66 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period. Like dinosaurs, this animal disappeared during the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction 66 million years ago.
