The animal was a mosasaur, an extinct, marine . The T. rex carried out a heavy assault on Indominus, and the two dinosaurs engaged in a ferocious battle. Considering how the individual was able to survive such conditions for an extended period of time, Schulp and colleagues speculated it switched to a foraging-type diet of soft-bodied prey like squid that could be swallowed whole to minimize jaw use. [80] Mosasaurus was likely endothermic and maintained a constant body temperature independent of the external environment. 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. [7] Russell (1967) wrote that the length of the jaw equalled one tenth of the body length in the species. they have 100 lbs bite force What is the bite force of a liger? In fighting likely took place in the form of snout grappling, similarly seen in modern crocodiles today. [7][36] Despite being the best anatomically represented species, M. lemonnieri was largely ignored in scientific literature. [c][25], The type specimen of M. missouriensis was first described in 1834 by Richard Harlan based on a snout fragment found along the river's Big Bend. [124] The fish assemblage of the Lpez de Bertodano Formation was dominated by Enchodus and ichthyodectiformes. (hover over or click on each skeletal component to identify the structure), Because nomenclatural rules were not well-defined at the time, 19th century scientists did not give Mosasaurus a proper diagnosis during its initial descriptions, which led to ambiguity in how the genus is defined. [19] Cuvier's idea that there existed an animal unlike any today was revolutionary at the time, and in 1812 he proclaimed, "Above all, the precise determination of the famous animal from Maastricht seems to us as important for the theory of zoological laws, as for the history of the globe. In this case, there were signs of healing around the wound, implying survival of the incident. Mosasaurus had a long, streamlined body and powerful jaws filled with sharp teeth. "[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. This was by observing the von Ebner lines, incremental marks in dentin that form daily. [13][20] In 1829, Gideon Mantell added the specific epithet hoffmannii, in honor to Hoffmann. 19 Facts About Mosasaurus [2023] - BlogDigger From an ecological standpoint, Mosasaurus probably had a profound impact on the structuring of marine ecosystems; its arrival in some locations such as the Western Interior Seaway in North America coincides with a complete turnover of faunal assemblages and diversity. He contacted the prominent biologist Petrus Camper, and the skull gained international attention after Camper published a study identifying it as a whale. [42], Like all mosasaurs, Mosasaurus had four types of teeth, classified based on the jaw bones they were located on. The genus adapted by accessing new habitats in more open waters. Based on measurements of various Belgian skeletons, Dollo estimated M. lemonnieri grew to around 7 to 10 meters (23 to 33ft) in length. Laelaps . [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. Plotosaurini paleogeographic occurrences", "Hermann Schlegel's investigation of the Maastricht mosasaurs". Many elements of the sculpture can be considered inaccurate, even for the time. 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. "The only plausible attacker with sufficient bite force to penetrate the cortical bone to such an extent is another mosasaur," Bastiaans and his team concluded, identifying the wound as a "tooth strike lesion." The infection ended up being worse than the bite. Mosasaurus is a genus of large aquatic carnivorous lizard from the Late Cretaceous about 70-66 million years ago. [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.