Discovery of ‘Blue Dragon’ Mosasaur Shakes Up Understanding of Ancient Marine Creatures
The discovery of a nearly complete skeleton of a massive marine predator has left scientists in awe and has challenged our understanding of ancient marine creatures.
The creature, identified as a new species of mosasaur called Megapterygius wakayamaensis, lived more than 72 million years ago in the western seas of the Pacific Ocean. About the size of a bus, this colossal air-breathing creature belonged to a group of now extinct marine lizards, with features such as binocular vision, enormous paddle-shaped limbs, and a long, powerful tail.
The nearly complete skeleton was originally discovered in 2006 along the Aridagawa River in Wakayama, Japan, by paleontologist Akihiro Misaki. It took five years to carefully remove the bones from the stones they were buried in.
The discovery has posed many challenges for scientists. “We lack any modern analog that has this kind of body morphology – from fish to penguins to sea turtles,” says palaeontologist Takuya Konishi from the University of Cincinnati.
The unusually long back flippers and different spines on its vertebrae suggest that the Wakayama ‘Blue Dragon’ mosasaur had unique swimming abilities. The scientists speculate that it may have had a dorsal fin and used its front and back fins for maneuvering while swimming, with its tail serving as the propulsive factor.
The discovery has opened up a new set of questions about how mosasaurs swam and hunted, challenging scientists’ understanding of these ancient marine predators.
The findings were published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, marking a significant discovery that could reshape our understanding of ancient marine creatures.