Deep blue shark compared to megalodon4/16/2023 ![]() The mosasaurs disappeared from the fossil record alongside non-avian dinosaurs 65.5 million years ago, after a giant asteroid crashed into Earth at the end of the Cretaceous period. Related: Ancient Antarctic sea monster may have laid this football-size egg Currie Dinosaur Museum, the movie mosasaur's movement is also inaccurate, based on a dated interpretation of Mosasaurus swimming like eels or snakes. Kenneth Lacovara, then a professor of paleontology and geology at Drexel University, also acknowledged the marine reptile was too large but gave the film "kudos" for including an accurate depiction of the mosasaur's palatal teeth - a specialized second set of teeth in the animal's upper mouth, similar to those in some snakes and lizards that hold prey in place and prevent its escape.Īccording to Philip J. The creature in the film is about twice the size of the largest known mosasaur fossil, according to ReBecca Hunt-Foster, a paleontologist at the Bureau of Land Management Canyon Country District, and John Foster, the director of the Museum of Moab. The real Mosasaurus species were simply not that big, paleontologists told Live Science shortly after "Jurassic World" was released in 2015. ![]() This big-screen depiction of the ancient sea monster made several other appearances in the "Jurassic World" series, but experts didn't consider the depiction scientifically accurate. ![]() The movie "Jurassic World" (2015) features an iconic shot of a giant Mosasaurus rocketing out of the water to snatch a dangling shark. (Image credit: AF archive / Alamy Stock Photo) (opens in new tab) The Mosasaurus depicted in "Jurassic World". How accurate was “Jurassic World” mosasaur? They may also have been capable of a powerful breaststroke, using their paddle-like forelimbs to assist in sudden bursts of speed to catch prey. The animals evolved to have a shark-like tail to propel themselves through the water. Mosasaurs may have started out swimming through the water like a snake or an eel, but mosasaur tails changed over time. Mosasaurus probably hunted in fairly deep waters, but would not have traveled too far from the shore, according to the NMNH. In fact, Mosasaurus hoffmanni fossils have been uncovered with severely broken and healed jaws that indicate they led a violent or dangerous lifestyle, according to a 1995 study published in the journal Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. The fossil, from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), demonstrates that even the largest mosasaur species could be preyed upon. In another fossil find, a juvenile Mosasaurus was found in the stomach of another mosasaur species, Prognathodon kianda. Related: Full belly fossil! 'Sea monster' had 3 others in its gut The fish was larger than the mosasaur's head, and the placement of the bones suggested the mosasaur had devoured its prey piece by piece. For example, paleontologists in Canada uncovered a specimen from the species Mosasaurus missouriensis with large fish bones inside it, according to National Geographic (opens in new tab). Occasionally, mosasaur fossils were preserved with their stomach contents intact, which helps paleontologists learn more about their hunting strategies. These mosasaurs were apex predators and could be compared to modern orcas, while other mosasaur species were more specialized feeders and adapted to eat shellfish, like modern sea otters, Live Science previously reported. Large mosasaurs would have likely eaten almost any kind of prey they were able to catch, including fish, sharks, sea birds and even other mosasaurs, according to the U.S. Mosasaurs were the ocean's most dominant predator at the end of the Cretaceous period and lived across the world's oceans. A nondescript vertebrate, followed by a Enchodus, followed by a Dolichorhynchops, followed by a large mosasaur. ![]() The food chain of marine predators in the Cretaceous period. ![]()
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