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The Independent
30-04-2025
- Science
- The Independent
Giant ‘sea monster' fossil unearthed in Mississippi mud
The remains of a giant 'sea monster' that once dominated the oceans was unearthed by geologists on a riverbank in the Mississippi River, scientists have said. Geologists discovered a fossilised single vertebra of the giant sea lizard known as a mosasaur that lived during the late Cretaceous period, approximately between 82 and 66 million years ago. "This is a true, true sea monster," geologist James Starnes, from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's Office of Geology, told local newspaper Hattiesburg American. 'This is about as big as mosasaurs get." Mosasaurs were apex predators, and at their largest, they could weigh up to 20,000 pounds (9,000 kilograms) and reach lengths of up to 50 feet (15 metres). "I immediately knew what it was, but was completely awestruck by its size," Mr Starnes told Live Science. "The feeling you get when you find a fossil, even as a professional, never gets old. But when you find something you have never seen before, the elation can be overwhelming." The bone of the marine reptile, discovered on April 15, is potentially one of the largest found in the state. "This is a big animal,' Starnes said. 'The maximum (weight) is about 20,000 pounds that this animal could have gotten. This is bigger than most dinosaurs walking around on land." The bone was discovered in an area that was once completely submerged underwater. In 2022, another giant species of mosasaur, Thalassotitan atrox, was discovered in Morocco. The giant marine lizard, described in the journal Cretaceous Research, grew up to 9m (30 ft) in length and is a distant relative of modern iguanas and monitor lizards. While some mosasaurs evolved to eat small prey, such as fish and squid, and others crushed ammonites and clams, scientists, including those from the University of Bath in the UK, suggest that the newly discovered one evolved to prey on all other marine reptiles. Mosasaurs disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous period, approximately 66 million years ago, during the K-Pg event, when around 75 percent of all species on the planet became extinct. While the exact cause of their extinction is not fully understood, it is believed to be related to the aftermath of a massive asteroid impact in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. When top predators, such as the mosasaurs, disappeared, it opened the way for whales and seals to become dominant in the oceans, the researchers said, and fish like swordfish and tuna also appeared.
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Geologists Found the Fossil of a Stunning 30-Foot Sea Dragon in Mississippi, of All Places
Geologists recently discovered the fossil of a Cretaceous-era mosasaur vertebra near Starkville, Mississippi. The experts believe the apex predator of the ancient seas could have weighed 20,000 pounds and been 50 feet long. The Late Cretaceous-era Mosasaurus hoffmannii was known to eat others of its own species. Whatever you want to call the Mosasaurus hoffmannii—a giant mosasaur, a massive water dragon, maybe even a sea monster—just know that it was one big dino, and we've got the bones to prove it. Geologists in Mississippi recently discovered the vertebra of the Late Cretaceous-era water dinosaur, which could reach up to 50 feet long and weigh 20,000 pounds at its largest. It was truly an apex predator extraordinaire. The find came in the fossil-rich outcrops of northeast Mississippi, near Starkville in the Prairie Bluff Formation, according to a statement from the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, and the discovery sheds new light on the 'giant sea lizard' that was a contemporary of the Tyrannosaurus rex, Velociraptor, and Triceratops. This Cretaceous carnivore was not to be messed with. It had jaws lined with 60 dagger-like pointed teeth curved inward—with additional rows of teeth at the roof of the back of their mouths to help secure large prey, including other mosasaurs—and the subaquatic dinos could regrow the teeth, which they frequently lost while hunting. 'Mosasaurs were sea dragons, both large and small, and were truly the apex predators dominating the various environments of the seas of this time,' according to the state's geologists. 'While the dinosaurs ruled the land, these Mesozoic-era oceans were likely the most dangerous of any time in the entire history of our planet.' The recent discovery was 'from a true giant,' the team said, adding it belonged to a M. hoffmannii, one of the largest and last mosasaurs during the Cretaceous period. Its size, coupled with its agility and speed in the water, made it 'one of the most formidable marine predators to ever swim in our planet's oceans.' Noting that in a period where much of Mississippi was believed covered by warm, tropical ocean waters, mosasaurs were akin to a giant lizard that was specialized in this environment. This specimen belongs to the largest-ever M. hoffmannii recorded in the state and would have been larger than most dinosaurs on land. 'This is a true, true sea monster,' James Starnes of the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's Office of Geology, told the Hattiesburg American. 'This is about as big as mosasaurs get.' George Phillips, paleontology curator at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, told the Hattiesburg American, this find—with a backbone seven inches at its widest point—was likely at least 30 feet long, though the M. hoffmannii is believed to be able to reach 50 feet in length. 'We find them from time to time, but to find one this size is phenomenal,' Starnes said. 'The transparent size of this thing blew us away.' The team located the vertebra in mud while building a three-dimensional map of the site's geological layers. It may have sat there for about 66 million years, the team believes, ever since the species went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
