Several fossils document deliberate attacks on Mosasaurus individuals by members of the same species. [102][106], The southern Tethyan margin was located along the equator between 20N and 20S, resulting in warmer tropical climates. Evidence of reworking typically comes from fossils worn down due to further erosion during their exposure at the time of redeposition. Such a trait is unique among squamates, the only known exception being the Argentine black and white tegu, which can maintain partial endothermy. [38] In a 2000 study, Lingham-Soliar refuted this based on a comprehensive study of existing M. lemonnieri specimens,[36] which was corroborated by a study on the M. conodon skull by Takehito Ikejiri and Spencer G. Lucas in 2014. "The science of the Crystal Palace Dinosaurs, part 2: "The world's first dinosaur park: what the Victorians got right and wrong", "Convergent Evolution in Aquatic Tetrapods: Insights from an Exceptional Fossil Mosasaur". 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. Mosasaurus had a long, streamlined body and powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth. [11] The disparity is also reflected in the dentary, the lower jawbone,[36] although all species share a long and straight dentary. Short of dismembering its prey by the sheer force of its bite, a mosasaur had to swallow whatever it caught whole, much like a modern snake. The model was deliberately sculpted incomplete, which Mark Witton believed was likely to save time and money. [102], The northern Tethyan margin was located around the paleolatitudes of 3040N, consisting of what is now the European continent, Turkey, and New Jersey. [7][36] Despite being the best anatomically represented species, M. lemonnieri was largely ignored in scientific literature. The teeth were largely consistent in size and shape with only minor differences throughout the jaws (homodont) except for the smaller pterygoid teeth. The third case was determined to be caused by a form of arthritis based on the formation of smooth bridging between fused vertebrae. [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. [124] The fish assemblage of the Lpez de Bertodano Formation was dominated by Enchodus and ichthyodectiformes. The fossils were found in association with fossils of Squalicorax, Enchodus, and various ammonites within a uniquely fossil-rich bed at the base of the Hornerstown Formation known as the Main Fossiliferous Layer. The region was shallow for a seaway, reaching a maximum depth of about 800900 meters (2,6003,000ft). The morphological build of M. hoffmannii, nevertheless, was best adapted for a pelagic surface lifestyle. The force of its bite was remarkably powerful: 11,000 pounds. The dinosaur had a maximum bite force of some 3.1 metric tons, "greater than for a living white shark, but puny compared to 'Big Tooth,'" Wroe said. 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%. 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. This rigid but highly shock-absorbent structure of the cranium likely allowed a powerful bite force. [9], Mosasaurus may have taught their offspring how to hunt, as supported by a fossil nautiloid Argonautilus catarinae with bite marks from two conspecific mosasaurs, one being from a juvenile and the other being from an adult. The exact year is not fully certain due to multiple contradicting claims. On the lower jaw, only one type, the dentary teeth, were present. [h][66], One of the most complete Mosasaurus skeletons in terms of vertebral representation (Mosasaurus sp. [9][50][61], A study published in 2013 by Schulp and colleagues specifically tested how mosasaurs such as M. hoffmannii and P. saturator were able to coexist in the same localities through 13C analysis. [129] As well as physical destruction, the impact also blocked out sunlight[132] leading to a collapse of marine food webs. 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. At the time, it was not believed that a species could go extinct, and fossils of animals were often interpreted as some form of an extant species. [114][121], Mosasaurus is known from late Maastrichtian deposits in the Antarctic Peninsula, specifically the Lpez de Bertodano Formation in Seymour Island. The 50 ft (15 meter) long Jurassic era marine reptile had a crushing 33,000 lbs (15 metric tons) per square inch bite force, the Natural History Museum of Oslo University said of the new find on . The magnus adductor muscles, which attach to the lower jaws to the cranium and have a major role in biting function, are massive, indicating M. hoffmannii was capable of enormous bite forces. [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. This was by observing the von Ebner lines, incremental marks in dentin that form daily. [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. 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. The 2015 Indominus roaring at the T. rex and Blue seconds before she is pulled to her death by a Mosasaurus. [f][40] The cutting edges of M. beaugei are neither serrated nor smooth, but instead possess minute wrinkles known as crenulations. [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. [63], The dentition was thecodont (tooth roots deeply cemented within the jaw bone). [93], There are some M. hoffmannii jaws with evidence of infectious diseases as a result of physical injuries. (2017). [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). 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 dentaries' condition suggests that the species may have had an efficient process of immobilizing the fracture during healing, which helped prevent damage to vital blood vessels and nerves. [5], The palate, which consists of the pterygoid bones, palatine bone, and nearby processes of other bones, is tightly packed to provide greater cranial stability. Herschel Hoffmeyer/Shutterstock.com [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. The parietal foramen in Mosasaurus, which is associated with the parietal eye, is the smallest among mosasaurids. "[14] In a 1822 work by James Parkinson, William Daniel Conybeare coined the genus Mosasaurus from the Latin Mosa "Meuse" and the Ancient Greek (saros, "lizard"), all literally meaning "lizard of the Meuse", in reference to the river where the holotype specimen was discovered nearby. Spinosaurus is larger than the T-Rex, but the T-Rex has a far deadlier bite. The radius and ulna are short, but the former is taller and larger than the latter. A redescription of the type specimen in 2017 helped resolve the taxonomy issue and confirmed at least five species to be within the genus. In fighting likely took place in the form of snout grappling, similarly seen in modern crocodiles today. Mosasaurus probably had a strong bite force due to eating prey like giant turtles in its time. The long, narrow, and heavy nature of the lower jaws and attachment of tendons at the coronoid process would have allowed quick opening and closing of the mouth with little energy input underwater, which also contributed to the powerful bite force of M. hoffmannii and suggests it would not have needed the strong magnus depressor muscles (jaw-opening muscles) seen in some plesiosaurs. saturator. A-Z-Animals.com Five Cool Facts About T-Rex vs Spinosaurus T-Rex had one of the most powerful bites of any animal that has ever lived, with an estimated bite force of over 12,000 pounds per square inch. It was hypothesized that these adaptations helped maintain resource partitioning between the two mosasaurs. Megalodon was 63 feet. [47][48][49], The type species, M. hoffmannii, is one of the largest marine reptiles known,[50][46] though knowledge of its skeleton remains incomplete as it is mainly known from skulls. This was based on fossils like the M. missouriensis holotype, which indicated an elastic vertebral column that Goldfuss in 1845 saw as evidence of an ability to walk and interpretations of some phalanges as claws. Cuvier did not designate a scientific name for the new animal, and this was done by William Daniel Conybeare in 1822 when he named it Mosasaurus in reference to its origin in fossil deposits near the Meuse River. One such bone is a quadrate (NHMM 003892) which is 150% larger than the average size, which Everhart and colleagues in 2016 reported can be extrapolated to scale an individual around 18 meters (59ft) in length. 189K views 1 year ago #Mosasaurus #Megalodon #VS If these ancient aquatic animals fought today, who would win? However, it is possible that such specimens may actually represent Moanasaurus, although this depends on the outcome of a pending revision of the genus. . [55] Paul (2022) offered a larger maximum estimate for the species at 12 meters (39ft) in length and 4.5 metric tons (5.0 short tons) in body mass. Schlegel's hypothesis was largely ignored by contemporary scientists but became widely accepted by the 1870s when Othniel Charles Marsh and Cope uncovered more complete mosasaur remains in North America. With the impending release of the fourth film in the Jurassic Park series we thought we'd present you with the most ferocious bites in the dinosaur kingdom. Another trait that came from Tyrannosaurus being in its gene pool was the massively strong bite force it had, . The margin provided a warm-temperate climate with habitats dominated by mosasaurs and sea turtles. [83] It may have also been a factor that allowed Mosasaurus to thrive in the colder climates of locations such as Antarctica. [112][103][113], In what is now Alabama within the Southern Interior Subprovince, most of the key genera including sharks like Cretoxyrhina and the mosasaurs Clidastes, Tylosaurus, Globidens, Halisaurus, and Platecarpus disappeared and were replaced by Mosasaurus. Second, the species was overshadowed by the more famous and history-rich type species. They do not exhibit the bone mass increase found in juvenile primitive mosasauroids to support buoyancy associated with a lifestyle in shallow water, implying that Mosasaurus was precocial: they were already efficient swimmers and lived fully functional lifestyles in open water at a very young age, and did not require nursery areas to raise their young. No injuries on the fossil show signs of healing, suggesting that the mosasaur was killed by its attacker by a fatal blow in the skull. While M. hoffmannii also preyed on turtles, its teeth were built to handle a wider range of prey less suited for P. [22] He coined the specific epithet and initially identified it as a species of Ichthyosaurus[28] but later as an amphibian. This is one indication of niche partitioning, where the two mosasaur genera likely foraged in different habitats or had different specific diets to coexist without direct competitive conflict. In comparison, the Mosasaurus had a bite force of around 13,000-16,000 lbs of pressure per square inch. It was given a boxy head, nostrils at the side of the skull, large volumes of soft tissue around the eyes, lips reminiscent of monitor lizards, scales consistent with those in large monitors like the Komodo dragon, and a flipper. [38][71][74], One of the earliest relevant attempts at an evolutionary study of Mosasaurus was done by Russell in 1967. Plotosaurini paleogeographic occurrences", "Hermann Schlegel's investigation of the Maastricht mosasaurs". they have 100 lbs bite force What is the bite force of a liger? 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. hoffmannii. [7], Conrad uniquely used only M. hoffmannii and M. lemonnieri in his 2008 phylogenetic analysis, which recovered M. hoffmannii as basal to a multitude of descendant clades containing (in order of most to least basal) Globidens, M. lemonnieri, Goronyosaurus, and Plotosaurus. [53] Based on personal observations of various unpublished fossils from Morocco, Nathalie Bardet estimated that M. beaugei grew to a total length of 810 meters (2633ft), their skulls typically measuring around 1 meter (3.3ft) in length,[59] with a body mass of around 1.5 metric tons (1.7 short tons) per Paul (2022). Many elements of the sculpture can be considered inaccurate, even for the time. [102] Multiple oceanic climate zones encompassed the seaways, including tropical, subtropical, temperate, and subpolar climates. [96], It is likely that Mosasaurus was viviparous (giving live birth) like most modern mammals today. Laelaps . A lion can exert 600 psi, and jaguar can exert 2000 psi. The swimming style was likely sub-carangiform, which is exemplified today by mackerels. Mosasaurus fossils have been found less than 15 meters (49ft) below the boundary in the Maastricht Formation, the Davutlar Formation in Turkey, the Jagel Formation in Argentina, Stevns Klint in Denmark, Seymour Island, and Missouri. [102] Many types of sharks such as Squalicorax, Cretalamna, Serratolamna, and sand sharks,[105] as well as bony fish such as Cimolichthys, the saber-toothed herring Enchodus, and the swordfish-like Protosphyraena are represented in the northern Tethyan margin. This result indicated that M. hoffmannii and M. lemonnieri are not in the same genus. Mosasaurus gave its name to a group of marine lizards - Mosasaurs. Most mosasaur teeth are cone shaped and do not have the cutting edges typical of shark or theropod teeth. Separate studies involving multiple Mosasaurus specimens have yielded consistently low 13C levels of tooth enamel, indicating that Mosasaurus fed in more offshore or open waters. It did not take into account Golduss' 1845 study of M. missouriensis which instead called for a narrower skull, nostrils at the top of the skull, and amphibious terrestrial limbs (the latter being incorrect in modern standards[44]). This formed through a combination of catastrophic seismic and geological disturbances, mega-hurricanes, and giant tsunamis caused by the impact of the Chicxulub asteroid that catalyzed the K-Pg extinction event. 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. The study found a dietary divide between M. missouriensis and Prognathodon overtoni based on stomach contents. [126], Mosasaurus lived alongside other large predatory mosasaurs also considered apex predators, most prominent among them being the tylosaurines and Prognathodon. and that their bite force didnt matter but the 'venom' they inflicted did.I havent seen any paper on mosasaurs having venom. The genus existed during the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period (Mesozoic era), around 70-65 million years ago in the area of modern Western Europe and North America. One skull discovered around 1780, which was seized by France during the French Revolutionary Wars for its scientific value, was famously nicknamed the "great animal of Maastricht". There were still conflicts among them, as an instance of Tylosaurus attacking a Mosasaurus has been documented. These species include one comparable with M. lemonnieri, and another that appears to be closely related to M. [7], In 1995, Lingham-Soliar studied the head musculature of M. hoffmannii. Please consider to SUBSCRIBE:https://www.youtube.com/c/WildCiencias?sub_confirmation=1 For business inquiries: wil. These environments were dominated by mosasaurs and marine side-necked turtles. M. hoffmannii's low 13C levels reinforces its likely position as an apex predator. [61][94][95] In examinations of M. conodon fossils from Alabama and New Jersey and M. lemonnieri fossils from Belgium, Rothschild and Martin in 2005 observed that the condition affected between 3-17% of the vertebrae in the mosasaurs' spines. Another five species still nominally classified within Mosasaurus are planned to be reassessed in a future study. 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. [109][110][111], The biogeography of the region has been subdivided into two Interior Subprovinces characterized by different climates and faunal structures, and their borders are separated in modern-day Kansas. [129][130] The last fossils of Mosasaurus, which include those of M. hoffmannii and indeterminate species, occur up to the Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary (K-Pg boundary). [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. [30] The same year, Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer suspected that the skull and Harlan's snout were part of the same individual. [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. It's shorter by 5 m (16 ft), is about one-quarter of the megalodon's weight, and has only about half the bite power of the megalodon's bite. fossils is in the Hornerstown Formation, a deposit typically dated to be from the Paleocene Danian age, which was immediately after the Maastrichtian age. [129] Any Mosasaurus surviving the immediate cataclysms by taking refuge in deeper waters would have died out due to starvation from a loss of prey. At the time, Europe was a scattering of islands with most of the modern continental landmass being underwater. Stomach contents of P. overtoni included turtles and ammonites, providing another example of a diet specialized for harder prey. Its tapered jaw measured around 4ft in length and could reach opening widths of around 3ft. M. hoffmannii and Prognathodon sectorius were the dominant species in the northern province. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764. glycys'with M. conodon and the Pacific taxa belonging to different genera and M. beaugei being a synonym[k] of M. This does not mean Mosasaurus and its associated fauna survived the K-Pg extinction. [65] Chemical studies conducted on a M. hoffmannii maxillary tooth measured an average rate of deposition of odontoblasts, the cells responsible for the formation of dentin, at 10.9 micrometers (0.00043in) per day. It lived from about 82 to 66 million years ago during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. 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. In contrast, M. missouriensis had stomach contents consisting of fish, indicative of a diet specialized in softer prey. [102][103][104] The wide range of oceanic climates yielded a large diversity of fauna that coexisted with Mosasaurus. [53] With a skull measuring around 97.7 centimeters (38.5in) in length, M. conodon has been regarded as a small to medium-sized representative of the genus;[11] Paul (2022) estimated its maximum length as being 7m (23ft) and body mass as being 900kg (2,000lb). [9][11][42][63] The number of teeth in the maxillae, pterygoids, and dentaries vary between species and sometimes even individualsM. [11][50] In the hindlimbs, the paddle is supported by four sets of digits. [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. This concept was revolutionary at the time and helped support the then-developing ideas of extinction. [7] A particular near-complete skeleton of M. missouriensis is reportedly measured at 6.5 meters (21ft) in total length with a skull approaching 1 meter (3.3ft) in length. [50] The species likely hunted near the ocean surface as an ambush predator, using its large two-dimensionally adapted eyes to more effectively spot and capture prey. Analysis of the tooth marks by a 2014 study by Kauffman concluded that the mosasaurs were either Mosasaurus or Platecarpus. [16][17][18] This caught the attention of French revolutionaries, who looted the fossil following the capture of Maastricht during the French Revolutionary Wars in 1794. The earliest fossils of Mosasaurus known to science were found as skulls in a chalk quarry near the Dutch city of Maastricht in the late 18th century, which were initially thought to have been the bones of crocodiles or whales. The oceanic climate of the Northern Interior Subprovince was likely a cool temperate one, while the Southern Interior Subprovince had warm temperate to subtropical climates. 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 dentaries ahead of the fractures in both specimens are in good condition, suggesting that the arteries and trigeminal nerves had not been damaged; if they were, those areas would have necrotized due to lack of blood.
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