Why are there still bozos thinking Mosa has a stronger f**king bite force than Megalodon?! [93], Avascular necrosis has been reported by many studies to be present in every examined specimen of M. lemonnieri and M. Changing temperatures and an abundance in marine life were characteristic of these localities. [21][b] Cuvier later designated the second skull as the new species' holotype (defining example). Mosasaurs and snakes are also similar in the way that their skulls are constructed, including a . [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. On the lower jaw, only one type, the dentary teeth, were present. The location of the infection may have also interfered with breathing. 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. 189K views 1 year ago #Mosasaurus #Megalodon #VS If these ancient aquatic animals fought today, who would win? [50], Paleontologists generally agree that Mosasaurus was likely an active predator of a variety of marine animals. [129] As well as physical destruction, the impact also blocked out sunlight[132] leading to a collapse of marine food webs. This story helped elevate the fossil into cultural fame, but historians agree that the narrative was exaggerated. [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. [11][42][61][62] Mosasaurus teeth are large and robust except for those in M. conodon and M. lemonnieri, which instead have more slender teeth. [85] Other Antarctic marine reptiles included elasmosaurid plesiosaurs like Aristonectes and another indeterminate elasmosaurid. [112][114] During the Navesinkan Age, Mosasaurus dominated the whole region, accounting for around two-thirds of all mosasaur diversity with Plioplatecarpus and Prognathodon sharing the remaining third. Megalodon is coming into the ring with a brutal bite force of 275,000 kPa. He contacted the prominent biologist Petrus Camper, and the skull gained international attention after Camper published a study identifying it as a whale. The bite force of Mosasaurus has been estimated to be between 13,000 and 16,000 pounds per square inch (psi). They belong to the order Squamata, which includes lizards and snakes . [30], Mosasaurus was a type of derived mosasaur, or a latecoming member with advanced evolutionary traits such as a fully aquatic lifestyle. 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. [88][126] To account for this, a 2014 study by T. Lynn Harrell Jr. and Alberto Perez-Huerta examined the concentration ratios of neodymium, gadolinium, and ytterbium in M. hoffmannii and Mosasaurus sp. Adding to its offensive line-up are a line of 40-50 teeth measuring some 25-30mm in length. [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. [49], The tail structure of Mosasaurus is similar to relatives like Prognathodon, in which soft tissue evidence for a two-lobed tail is known. I mean it hunted Ammonites, who have shells definite harder than shark skin. [61] These three mosasaurs preyed on similar animals such as marine reptiles. It has been pointed out how 13C can be influenced by other factors in an animal's lifestyle, such as diet and diving behavior. 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. Fossil vertebrae from the layer were found with fractures formed after death. Paleontologists believe its diet would have included virtually any animal; it likely preyed on bony fish, sharks, cephalopods, birds, and other marine reptiles including sea turtles and other mosasaurs. This level of bone infection would have been tremendously painful and severely hampered the mosasaur's ability to use its jaws. [97] Such fossil records, along with a total absence of any evidence suggesting external egg-based reproduction, indicates the likeliness of viviparity in Mosasaurus. This, along with signs of healing, indicates that the fractures were not imminently fatal. Herschel Hoffmeyer/Shutterstock.com 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. However, it is possible that such specimens may actually represent Moanasaurus, although this depends on the outcome of a pending revision of the genus. Its tail was long and ended in a downward bend and a paddle-like fluke. 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. [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. Comparisons between the 13C levels in multiple teeth of M. hoffmannii and P. saturator from the Maastrichtian-age Maastricht Formation showed that while there was some convergence between certain specimens, the average 13C values between the two species were on average different. [61] Lingham-Soliar (1995) suggested that Mosasaurus had a rather "savage" feeding behavior as demonstrated by large tooth marks on scutes of the giant sea turtle Allopleuron hoffmanni and fossils of re-healed fractured jaws in M. 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. It was approximated that it took the odontoblasts 511 days and dentin 233 days to develop to the extent observed in the tooth. [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. 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. Teeth were constantly shed through a process where the replacement tooth developed within the root of the original tooth and then pushed it out of the jaw. 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. 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. I cropped an image of the skull of Prognathodon, a macropredatory mosasaur confirmed to have reached 40' in length (I have recently been privy to . This rigid but highly shock-absorbent structure of the cranium likely allowed a powerful bite force. The validity of some of these genera is disputed as they are primarily based on isolated teeth. Extensive amounts of bone reparative tissue were also present, suggesting the infection and subsequent healing process may have progressed for a few months. [9], Interactive skeletal reconstruction of M. hoffmannii The mosasaur bit the shell up to sixteen times, the paleontologists determined, and the damage probably "disengaged the muscles by which the body of the ammonite was held in the shell", leaving. Mosasaurus (/mozsrs/; "lizard of the Meuse River") is the type genus (defining example) of the mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic squamate reptiles. The teeth were largely consistent in size and shape with only minor differences throughout the jaws (homodont) except for the smaller pterygoid teeth. There is also evidence of aggressive interspecific combat between Mosasaurus and other large mosasaur species. The first Mosasaurus fossil known to science was discovered in 1764 in a chalk quarry near Maastricht in the Netherlands in the form of a skull, which was initially identified as a whale. [53], The skull of Mosasaurus is conical and tapers off to a short snout which extends a little beyond the frontmost teeth. [124] The fish assemblage of the Lpez de Bertodano Formation was dominated by Enchodus and ichthyodectiformes. [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 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. At least two species of Mosasaurus have been described, but the true number of species is unknown as remains are often fragmentary and specimens are described in open nomenclature. Its four limbs were shaped into robust paddles to steer the animal underwater. Another five species still nominally classified within Mosasaurus are planned to be reassessed in a future study. [95], Unnatural fusion of tail vertebrae has been documented in Mosasaurus, which occurs when the bones remodel themselves after damage from trauma or disease. [16][34] This species was re-introduced to science and formally described in 1889 by Louis Dollo based on a skull recovered by Alfred Lemonnier from a phosphate quarry in Belgium. It likely preferred to hunt in open water near the surface. First, M. lemonnieri fossils are endemic to Belgium and the Netherlands, which despite the famous discovery of the M. hoffmannii holotype attracted little attention from mosasaur paleontologists. Plotosaurini paleogeographic occurrences", "Hermann Schlegel's investigation of the Maastricht mosasaurs". The femur itself is about twice as long as it is wide and ends at the distal side in a pair of distinct articular facets (of which one connects to the ilium and the other to the paddle bones) that meet at an angle of approximately 120. Mosasaurus faced competition with other large predatory mosasaurs such as Prognathodon and Tylosauruswhich were known to feed on similar preythough they were able to coexist in the same ecosystems through niche partitioning. While M. hoffmannii also preyed on turtles, its teeth were built to handle a wider range of prey less suited for P. Join. The team then used computer models to reconstruct the dinosaur's jaw muscles and analyze bite performance. [131], M. hoffmannii fossils have been found within the K-Pg boundary itself in southeastern Missouri between the Paleocene Clayton Formation and Cretaceous Owl Creek Formation. [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. [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. These localities include the Midwest and East Coast of the United States, Canada, Europe, Turkey, Russia, the Levant, the African coastline from Morocco[101] to South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, and Antarctica. Mosasaurs (from Latin Mosa meaning the ' Meuse ', and Greek sauros meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. 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. [128], By the end of the Cretaceous, mosasaurs were at the height of their evolutionary radiation, and their extinction was a sudden event. The swimming style was likely sub-carangiform, which is exemplified today by mackerels. Fractures formed after death elasmosaurid plesiosaurs like Aristonectes and another indeterminate elasmosaurid Other mosasaur! Mean it hunted Ammonites, who have shells definite harder than shark skin 16,000 pounds square... Definite harder than shark skin the dentary teeth, were present ] Antarctic... The cranium likely allowed a powerful bite force of 275,000 kPa # Megalodon VS. 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