[50][36] Rather, M. hoffmannii likely employed inertial feeding (in which the animal thrusts its head and neck backward to release a held prey item and immediately thrust the head and neck forward to close the jaws around the item[78]) and used jaw adduction to assist in biting during prey seizure. His calculations interpreted "body length" as the length of the postcranial body, not the total length of the animal as demonstrated in Russell (1967), This erroneously inflated the estimate by 10%. [50], 13C is also correlated with a marine animal's feeding habitat as isotope levels deplete when habitat is farther from the shoreline, so some scientists interpreted isotope levels as a proxy for habitat preference. As befitting mammals that can eat, chew and digest solid bone, spotted hyenas are equipped with massive skulls, disproportionately large trunks and forelimbs, and powerful bites that can rip through carcasses with up to 1,000 pounds of force per square inch. [13][20] In 1829, Gideon Mantell added the specific epithet hoffmannii, in honor to Hoffmann. They were described by Dollo in later papers. [12] This specimen, cataloged as TM 7424, is now on display at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. [50], The tissue structure of Mosasaurus' bones suggests it had a metabolic rate much higher than modern squamates and its resting metabolic rate was between that of the leatherback sea turtle and that of ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. A lion can exert 600 psi, and jaguar can exert 2000 psi. In a 1798 narrative of this event by Barthlemy Faujas de Saint-Fond, the skull was allegedly retrieved by twelve grenadiers in exchange for an offer of 600 bottles of wine. There is no evidence for live birth in Mosasaurus itself, but it is known in a number of other mosasaurs;[97] examples include a skeleton of a pregnant Carsosaurus,[97] a Plioplatecarpus fossil associated with fossils of two mosasaur embryos,[98] and fossils of newborn Clidastes from pelagic (open ocean) deposits. In M. hoffmannii, the top margin of the dentary is slightly curved upwards;[5] this is also the case with the largest specimens of M. lemonnieri, although more typical skulls of the species have a near-perfectly straight jawline. What constitutes published work", "A new mosasaurine from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) phosphates of Morocco and its implications for mosasaurine systematics", "Inferring 'weak spots' in phylogenetic trees: application to mosasauroid nomenclature", "Reassessing Mosasaurini based on a systematic revision of, "Mosasauroid phylogeny under multiple phylogenetic methods provides new insights on the evolution of aquatic adaptations in the group", "Inertial feeding in reptiles: the role of skull mass reduction", "Microanatomical and Histological Features in the Long Bones of Mosasaurine Mosasaurs (Reptilia, Squamata) Implications for Aquatic Adaptation and Growth Rates", "Seasonal reproductive endothermy in tegu lizards", "Late Cretaceous winter sea ice in Antarctica? This is significantly higher than the bite force of the largest shark species, the great white shark, which is estimated to be arund 1,950 psi. To give you some perspective, the average human can exert a force as great as 268 pounds per square inch (psi) using their molars. In each jaw row, from front to back, Mosasaurus had: two premaxillary teeth, twelve to sixteen maxillary teeth, and eight to sixteen pterygoid teeth on the upper jaw and fourteen to seventeen dentary teeth on the lower jaw. [88][126] Lingham-Soliar (1995) elaborated on this, finding that Maastrichtian deposits in the Netherlands with M. hoffmannii occurrences represented nearshore waters around 4050 meters (130160ft) deep. The team then used computer models to reconstruct the dinosaur's jaw muscles and analyze bite performance. [112] Some Niobraran genera such as Tylosaurus,[115] Cretoxyrhina,[116] hesperornithids,[117] and plesiosaurs including elasmosaurs such as Terminonatator[118] and polycotylids like Dolichorhynchops[119] maintained their presence until around the end of the Campanian, during which the entire Western Interior Seaway started receding from the north. [49][79] Its elongated paddle-like limbs functioned as hydrofoils for maneuvering the animal. [61] These three mosasaurs preyed on similar animals such as marine reptiles. [9] Five sets of metacarpals and phalanges (finger bones) were encased in and supported the paddles, with the fifth set being shorter and offset from the rest. The neurocranium housed a brain which was narrow and relatively small compared to other mosasaurs. [82] This adaptation would have given several advantages to Mosasaurus, including increased stamina when foraging across larger areas and pursuing prey. [7], In 1995, Lingham-Soliar studied the head musculature of M. hoffmannii. ", "A new halisaurine mosasaur (Squamata: Halisaurinae) from Japan: the first record in the western Pacific realm and the first documented insights into binocular vision in mosasaurs", "Mosasaur Predation on Upper Cretaceous Nautiloids and Ammonites from the United States Pacific Coast", 10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0096:MPOUCN>2.0.CO;2, "Mosasaur ascending: the phytogeny of bends", "Juvenile marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous of the Antarctic peninsula and their relationships to other such occurrences in central South Dakota and Belgium", "Occurrence of Mosasaurus hoffmannii Mantell, 1829 (Squamata, Mosasauridae) in the Maastrichtian Phosphates of Morocco", "A cool temperate climate on the Antarctic Peninsula through the latest Cretaceous to early Paleogene", "Ray-finned fishes (Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii) from the type Maastrichtian, the Netherlands and Belgium", "A new species of longirostrine plioplatecarpine mosasaur (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco, with a re-evaluation of the problematic taxon, 10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0091:sdahso]2.0.co;2, "An Overview of Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from Alabama", "A New Hypothesis of the Phylogenetic Relationships of the Tylosaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauroidea)", 10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[89:tpanes]2.0.co;2, 10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079[0969:anpprs]2.0.co;2, "Vertebrate Paleontology of the Pierre Shale and Fox Hills Formations (Late Campanian-Late Maastrichtian) of Badlands National Park, South Dakota", "Extinction patterns, 18 O trends, and magnetostratigraphy from a southern high-latitude CretaceousPaleogene section: Links with Deccan volcanism", "A new elasmosaurid from the upper Maastrichtian Lpez de Bertodano Formation: new data on weddellonectian diversity", "Before and after the K/Pg extinction in West Antarctica: New marine fish records from Marambio (Seymour) Island", 10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0473:mrsmft]2.0.co;2, "GEOL 104 Lecture 38: The Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction III: Not With a Bang, But a Whimper", "Global climate change driven by soot at the K-Pg boundary as the cause of the mass extinction", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mosasaurus&oldid=1148298057, This page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 08:57. It was not stated whether they applied Russell's 1967 ratio. This was confirmed in 2004. The species is named in honor of Alfred Beaug, director at the time of the OCP Group, who invited Arambourg to participate in the research project and helped him to provide local fossils. [102] Mosasaurus was not well-represented: the distribution of M. beaugei was restricted to Morocco and Brazil and isolated teeth from Syria suggested a possible presence of M. lemonnieri, although M. hoffmannii also had some presence throughout the province. [125], Known fossils of Mosasaurus have typically been recovered from deposits representing nearshore habitats during the Cretaceous period, with some fossils coming from deeper-water deposits. The model was deliberately sculpted incomplete, which Mark Witton believed was likely to save time and money. [50], Mosasaurus swam using its tail. [21][b] Cuvier later designated the second skull as the new species' holotype (defining example). Various partial skeletons of M. conodon, M. hoffmannii, and M. missouriensis suggest M. conodon likely had up to thirty-six dorsal vertebrae and nine pygal vertebrae; M. hoffmannii had likely up to thirty-two dorsal vertebrae and ten pygal vertebrae;[i][11][36] and M. missouriensis around thirty-three dorsal vertebrae, eleven pygal vertebrae, and at least seventy-nine caudal vertebrae. These and other features support a large and powerful paddle-like fluke in Mosasaurus. fossils from Alabama, the Demopolis Chalk, and the Hornerstown Formation. The exact affinities of Mosasaurus as a squamate remain controversial, and scientists continue to debate whether its closest living relatives are monitor lizards or snakes. fossils is in the Hornerstown Formation, a deposit typically dated to be from the Paleocene Danian age, which was immediately after the Maastrichtian age. So i eawnna know the truth now. In M. lemonnieri, these olfactory organs, although still small, are better developed and have some components lacking in M. hoffmannii. There is also evidence of aggressive interspecific combat between Mosasaurus and other large mosasaur species. [114][121], Mosasaurus is known from late Maastrichtian deposits in the Antarctic Peninsula, specifically the Lpez de Bertodano Formation in Seymour Island. Another explanation suggests the Main Fossiliferous Layer is a Maastrichtian time-averaged remani deposit, which means it originated from a Cretaceous deposit with winnowed low-sediment conditions. [40], The fifth species M. beaugei was described by Camille Arambourg in 1952 from isolated teeth originating from phosphate deposits in the Oulad Abdoun Basin and the Ganntour Basin in Morocco. Mosasaur Bites and Limpet Scrapes. The swimming style was likely sub-carangiform, which is exemplified today by mackerels. [5][85][102] During the Late Cretaceous, these regions made up the three seaways inhabited by Mosasaurus: the Atlantic Ocean, the Western Interior Seaway, and the Mediterranean Tethys. Extensive amounts of bony callus almost overgrowing the tooth socket are present around the fracture along with various osteolytic cavities, abscess canals, damages to the trigeminal nerve, and inflamed erosions signifying severe bacterial infection. As such, it had a streamlined body, an elongated tail ending with a downturn supporting a two-lobed fin, and two pairs of flippers. The region was shallow for a seaway, reaching a maximum depth of about 800900 meters (2,6003,000ft). [61], Another case of presumed niche partitioning between Mosasaurus and Prognathodon from the Bearpaw Formation in Alberta was documented in a 2014 study by Konishi and colleagues. Mosasaurus (/mozsrs/; "lizard of the Meuse River") is the type genus (defining example) of the mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic squamate reptiles. [49], The forelimbs of Mosasaurus are wide and robust. [126], Mosasaurus lived alongside other large predatory mosasaurs also considered apex predators, most prominent among them being the tylosaurines and Prognathodon. The study estimated that an M. hoffmannii individual with a skull measuring more than 145cm (57in) would have been up to or more than 11 meters (36ft) in length and weighed 10 metric tons (11 short tons) in body mass. [16][43], One of the earliest depictions of Mosasaurus in paleoart is a life-size concrete sculpture created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins[44] between 1852 and 1854[45] as part of the collection of sculptures of prehistoric animals on display at the Crystal Palace Park in London. [37] In 1967, Dale Russell argued that M. lemonnieri and M. conodon are the same species and designated the former as a junior synonym per the principle of priority. [109] Mosasaurus continued to be the dominant genus in the seaway until the end of the Navesinkan Age at the end of the Cretaceous. Mosasaurus also has large haemal arches located at the bottom of each caudal vertebra which bend near the middle of the tail, which contrasts with the reduction of haemal arches in other marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs. [54], M. missouriensis and M. lemonnieri are smaller than M. hoffmannii but are known from more complete fossils. The powerful forces resulting from utilization of the paddles may have sometimes resulted in bone damage, as evidenced by a M. hoffmannii ilium with significant separation of the bone's head from the rest of the bone likely caused by frequent shearing forces at the articulation joint. they have 100 lbs bite force What is the bite force of a liger? [22], The third species was described in 1881 from fragmentary fossils in New Jersey by Edward Drinker Cope, who thought it was a giant species of Clidastes and named it Clidastes conodon. Fossil evidence suggests Mosasaurus inhabited much of the Atlantic Ocean and the seaways adjacent to it. Mosasaurus had a long, streamlined body and powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth. . [52] Mentioning the Penza specimen, Gregory S. Paul estimated in his 2022 book, The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles, a shorter maximum length for M. hoffmannii of 13 meters (43ft) and a body mass of 5.5 metric tons (6.1 short tons). Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764. It was approximated that it took the odontoblasts 511 days and dentin 233 days to develop to the extent observed in the tooth. [31] In 1966, it was reidentified as a species of Mosasaurus. [124] The fish assemblage of the Lpez de Bertodano Formation was dominated by Enchodus and ichthyodectiformes. However, it is possible that such specimens may actually represent Moanasaurus, although this depends on the outcome of a pending revision of the genus. How much bite force does a hyena have? This fish was much longer than the length of the mosasaur's skull, which measured 66 centimeters (26in) in length, confirming that M. missouriensis consumed prey larger than its head by dismembering and consuming bits at a time. Extensive amounts of bone reparative tissue were also present, suggesting the infection and subsequent healing process may have progressed for a few months. [29] The rest of the skull had been discovered earlier by a fur-trapper, and it eventually came under the possession of prince Maximilian of Weid-Neuwied between 1832 and 1834. In addition, they exclusively feature M. conodon, Halisaurus platyspondylus and Prognathodon rapax. The layer was likely deposited as a tsunamite, alternatively nicknamed the "Cretaceous cocktail deposit". The validity of some of these genera is disputed as they are primarily based on isolated teeth. Prognathodon had a robust and heavy jaw that would have been capable of withstanding a high bite force supplied by powerful jaw muscles. However it's the teeth that should receive . This rigid but highly shock-absorbent structure of the cranium likely allowed a powerful bite force. [39] However, the need for more research to confirm any hypotheses of synonymy was expressed. [93], There are some M. hoffmannii jaws with evidence of infectious diseases as a result of physical injuries. [35][33] Further mining of the quarry in subsequent years uncovered many additional well-preserved fossils, including multiple partial skeletons which collectively represented nearly the entire skeleton of the species. Second, the species was overshadowed by the more famous and history-rich type species. Scale bar is 50 mm in B and 20 mm in D. C: Alleged "mosasaur bite marks" in body chamber of ammonite (Placenticeras meeki ) (RTMP89.42.36), Bearpaw Formation, Late Cretaceous, St. Mary River . ive heard that they do then ive heard that their jaws are to small for a bite force greater than the tyrant king. [d][50] No explicit justification for the 1:10 ratio was provided in Russell (1967),[38] and it has been considered to be probably overestimated by Cleary et al. In recent studies, the confirmation of paleogeographical affinities extended this range to areas across the Atlantic including Brazil and the East Coast state of New Jersey. Mosasaurus was a predator possessing excellent vision to compensate for its poor sense of smell, and a high metabolic rate suggesting it was endothermic ("warm-blooded"), an adaptation only found in mosasaurs among squamates. There is considerable morphological variability across the currently-recognized species in Mosasaurusfrom the robustly-built M. hoffmannii to the slender and serpentine M. lemonnieribut an unclear diagnosis (description of distinguishing features) of the type species M. hoffmannii led to a historically problematic classification. The 2015 Indominus roaring at the T. rex and Blue seconds before she is pulled to her death by a Mosasaurus. There were still conflicts among them, as an instance of Tylosaurus attacking a Mosasaurus has been documented. [46] Using a smaller partial jaw (NHMM 009002) measuring 90 centimeters (35in) and "reliably estimated at" 160 centimeters (63in) when complete, Lingham-Soliar (1995) estimated a larger maximum length of 17.6 meters (58ft) via the same ratio. Other marine reptiles such as the marine monitor lizard Pachyvaranus and the sea snake Palaeophis are known there. The lack of a strong sense of smell suggests that olfaction was not particularly important in Mosasaurus; instead, other senses like vision may have been more useful. Both of these dinosaurs have extremely powerful jaws and rows and rows of sharp teeth, though the bite force of the mosasaurus is more powerful than the bite force of the liopleurodon. The study also held four additional species from Pacific depositsM. [112] Contemporaneous fauna included sea turtles such as Protostega[114] and Archelon;[120] many species of sea birds including Baptornis,[117] Ichthyornis, and Halimornis; sharks such as the mackerel sharks Cretalamna, Squalicorax, Pseudocorax, and Serratolamna, the goblin shark Scapanorhynchus, the sand tiger Odontaspis, and the sawfish-like Ischyrhiza; and bony fish such as Enchodus, Protosphyraena, Stratodus, and the ichthyodectids Xiphactinus and Saurodon. [129] As well as physical destruction, the impact also blocked out sunlight[132] leading to a collapse of marine food webs. That title goes to the Dunkleosteus, the real king of the sea when it comes to biting, his jaw could exert aproximately 80,000 psi, which doubles Megalodon and it is because Dunkleosteus' head was specially designed for compressing, its teeth had a special razor design, and it wasnt entirely teeth . [7] Second, the studies relied on an unclean and shaky taxonomy of the Mosasaurus genus due to the lack of a clear holotype diagnosis, which may have been behind the genus's paraphyletic status. Some studies such as Madzia & Cau (2017) also recover, The 2018 MS thesis of Cyrus Green disputes the notion that, Two of the 15 surveyed fossils were reported from the, A dubious taxon that may represent various mosasaurs such as, National Museum of Natural History, France, collection of sculptures of prehistoric animals, Research history of Mosasaurus History of taxonomy, Mosasaur Relation with snakes or monitor lizards, International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "Recent mosasaur discoveries from New Jersey and Delaware, USA: stratigraphy, taphonomy and implications for mosasaur extinction", "Paleoecology of the Delaware Valley region, Part II: Cretaceous to Quaternary", "A mosasaur from the Maastrichtian Fox Hills Formation of the northern Western Interior Seaway of the United States and the synonymy of, "Of German princes and North American rivers: Harlan's lost mosasaur snout rediscovered", "Datum vondst mosasaurus ontdekt: in oktober 1778", "Conjectures relative to the petrifactions found in St. Peter's Mountain near Maestricht", "A Tabular Arrangement of the Organic Remains of the County of Sussex", Transactions of the Geological Society of London, "On the Remains of Extinct Reptiles of the genera, "Mosasauridae Translation and Pronunciation Guide", "Mmoire sur quelques parties moins connues du squelette des sauriens fossiles de Maestricht", "Premire note sur les Mosasauriens de Mesvin", "A new Plotosaurini mosasaur skull from the upper Maastrichtian of Antarctica. [14][18], After its seizure, the second skull was sent to the National Museum of Natural History, France in 1795 and later cataloged as MNHN AC 9648. The Mediterranean Tethys during the Maastrichtian stage was located in what is now Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. [61], Currently, there is only one known example of a Mosasaurus preserved with stomach contents: a well-preserved partial skeleton of a small M. missouriensis dated about 75 million years old with dismembered and punctured remains of a 1 meter (3.3ft) long fish in its gut. [72] The cladogram on the right (Topology B) is modified from Street's 2016 doctoral thesis proposing a revision to the Mosasaurinae, with proposed new taxa and renamings in single quotations. Stomach contents of P. overtoni included turtles and ammonites, providing another example of a diet specialized for harder prey. hoffmannii. [9], The features of teeth in Mosasaurus vary across species, but unifying characteristics include a design specialized for cutting prey, highly prismatic surfaces (enamel circumference shaped by flat sides called prisms), and two opposite cutting edges. The causes of such infections are uncertain, but records of fused vertebrae in other mosasaurs suggest attacks by sharks and other predators as a possible candidate. 189K views 1 year ago #Mosasaurus #Megalodon #VS If these ancient aquatic animals fought today, who would win? The cause of the infection remains unknown, but if it were a result of an intraspecific attack then it is possible one of the openings on the quadrate may have been the point of entry for an attacker's tooth from which the infection entered. In 2004, Lingham-Soliar observed that if these injuries were indeed the result of an intraspecific attack, then there is a pattern of them concentrating in the skull region. A new analysis published on Wednesday of fossils of the creature unearthed in 1975 has determined that it deserves to be recognized as a new genus of mosasaur based on skeletal traits including a. Who Would Win Mosasaurus Vs Spinosaurus? [30] In 1854, Hermann Schlegel proved how Mosasaurus actually had fully aquatic flippers. In this case, there were signs of healing around the wound, implying survival of the incident. [30] The same year, Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer suspected that the skull and Harlan's snout were part of the same individual. [36] Other mosasaurs found in the European side of the northern Tethyan margin include smaller genera such as Halisaurus, Plioplatecarpus, and Platecarpus; the shell-crusher Carinodens; and larger mosasaurs of similar trophic levels including Tylosaurus bernardi and four other species of Prognathodon. Several fossils document deliberate attacks on Mosasaurus individuals by members of the same species. [11] The disparity is also reflected in the dentary, the lower jawbone,[36] although all species share a long and straight dentary. Compare that to the bite force of an adult T. rex about 35,000 newtons or to the puny biting power of humans: 300 newtons. The radius and ulna are short, but the former is taller and larger than the latter. [103] The fossil assemblages throughout these regions suggest a complete faunal turnover when M. missouriensis and M. conodon appeared at 79.5 Ma, indicating that the presence of Mosasaurus in the Western Interior Seaway had a profound impact on the restructuring of marine ecosystems. bite force of a liger is 900. [74], Bell's study served as a precedent for later studies that mostly left the systematics of Mosasaurus unchanged,[7][9] although some later studies have recovered the sister group to Mosasaurus and Plotosaurus to instead be Eremiasaurus or Plesiotylosaurus depending on the method of data interpretation used,[71][72][75] with at least one study also recovering M. missouriensis to be the most basal species of the genus instead of M. hoffmannii, M. missouriensis, M. conodon, M. lemonnieri, and M. beaugei. Its tail was long and ended in a downward bend and a paddle-like fluke. Many elements of the sculpture can be considered inaccurate, even for the time. [83] It may have also been a factor that allowed Mosasaurus to thrive in the colder climates of locations such as Antarctica. [50] The quadrate bone, which connected the lower jaw to the rest of the skull and formed the jaw joint, is tall and somewhat rectangular in shape, differing from the rounder quadrates found in typical mosasaurs. In comparison, the Mosasaurus had a bite force of around 13,000-16,000 lbs of pressure per square inch. The skull of Mosasaurus was equipped with robust jaws capable of swinging back and forth and strong muscles capable of powerful bites using dozens of large teeth adapted for cutting prey. [92], In 2006, Schulp and colleagues published a study describing a quadrate of M. hoffmannii with multiple unnatural openings and an estimated 0.5 liters (0.13U.S.gal) of tissue destroyed. Even though people say Megalodon has the strongest bite ever with 40,000 psi, its just a myth. [24] In 1818, a fossil from Monmouth County, New Jersey became the first North American specimen to be correctly recognized as a Mosasaurus by scientists of the time. [77] However, the study used a method unorthodox to traditional phylogenetic studies on mosasaur species because its focus was on the relationships of entire squamate groups rather than mosasaur classification. The ratio between the length of the supratemporal fenestra and the total length of the skull has previously been used as an improvised measurement for mosasaur bite force, and is relatively high in Prognathodon (0.22 in P. overtoni and P. saturator) compared to other genera, such as Mosasaurus (0.19 in M. hoffmannii). [n][o][38] However, Russell used an early method of phylogenetics and did not use cladistics. [53], Isolated bones suggest some M. hoffmannii may have exceeded the lengths of the Penza specimen. The teeth were largely consistent in size and shape with only minor differences throughout the jaws (homodont) except for the smaller pterygoid teeth. [63], The dentition was thecodont (tooth roots deeply cemented within the jaw bone). [85] Located within the polar circle at around 65S,[104] temperatures at medium to large water depths would have been around 6C (43F) on average, while sea surface temperatures may have dropped below freezing and sea ice may have formed at times. Megalodon was 63 feet. In many mosasaurs like Prognathodon and M. lemonnieri, this function mainly served to allow ratchet feeding, in which the pterygoid and jaws would "walk" captured prey into the mouth like a conveyor belt. [7][9] Third, there was still a lack of comparative studies of the skeletal anatomy of large mosasaurines at the time. It likely preferred to hunt in open water near the surface. [42] One indeterminate specimen of Mosasaurus similar to M. conodon from the Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area in North Dakota was found to have an unusual count of sixteen pterygoid teeth, far greater than in known species. ; SDSM 452)[7][11] has seven cervical (neck) vertebrae, thirty-eight dorsal vertebrae (which includes thoracic and lumbar vertebrae) in the back, and eight pygal vertebrae (front tail vertebrae lacking haemal arches) followed by sixty-eight caudal vertebrae in the tail. Evidence of reworking typically comes from fossils worn down due to further erosion during their exposure at the time of redeposition. There are some other species of mosasaur that specialised in eating this kind of prey so they had stronger bites than Mosasaurus who was a generalist predator so it would take anything that fit into its mouth, not unlike tiger sharks today. A redescription of the type specimen in 2017 helped resolve the taxonomy issue and confirmed at least five species to be within the genus. [11][32] In his description, Cope does not provide the etymology for the specific epithet conodon,[31] but it is suggested that it could be a portmanteau meaning "conical tooth", derived from the Ancient Greek (knos, "cone") and (odn, "tooth"), probably in reference to conical surface teeth smooth of the species. Paleontologists have done some sort of biomechanical modeling based on teeth we've found, and they calculated the bite force would be about 40,000 pounds per square inch, which is by far the highest bite force ever calculated for any animal, living or extinct. (2014) estimated that M. missouriensis may have measured up to 89 meters (2630ft) in length. (Squamata, Mosasauridae) from the Maastrichtian of Angola, and the affinities of the mosasaur genus Liodon - Proceedings of the Second Mosasaur Meeting . and that their bite force didnt matter but the 'venom' they inflicted did.I havent seen any paper on mosasaurs having venom. Unfortunately for Mosasaurus, few animals match Megalodon when it comes to sheer bite force. The cutting edges in M. hoffmannii and M. missouriensis are finely serrated,[5][10] while in M. conodon and M. lemonnieri serrations do not exist. However, there are differences in tooth spacing between both bites which indicate different jaw sizes. The models suggest that an adult T. rex was capable of a maximum bite force of 35,000 to . [74], In 1997, Bell published the first cladistical study of North American mosasaurs. Previous bite force estimates for juvenile T. rexes based on reconstruction of the jaw muscles or from mathematically scaling down the bite force of adult T. rexes were considerably less, about 4,000 newtons. Marine reptile assemblages in the New Jersey region of the province are generally equivalent with those in Europe; the mosasaur faunae are quite similar but exclude M. lemonnieri, Carinodens, Tylosaurus, and certain species of Halisaurus and Prognathodon. The two mosasaurs Mosasaurus and Prognathodon appear to have been the dominant taxa, being widespread and ecologically diversified throughout the seaway. A 2015 study by Rothschild and Everhart surveyed 15 Mosasaurus specimens from North America and Belgium and found cases of fused tail vertebrae in three of them. They belong to the order Squamata, which includes lizards and snakes .
Kelly Corrigan Podcast Transcript,
Articles M