Tylosaurus Rex Identified as Giant Marine Reptile
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Why in News
- Scientists recently identified Tylosaurus rex as a brand new species of giant marine reptile after studying old fossils that were found earlier.
About Tylosaurus Rex
- Tylosaurus rex belongs to the mosasaur family, which is a group of marine reptiles from the time of dinosaurs.
- It was not actually a dinosaur, but rather a sea creature linked to land lizards.
- Modern monitor lizards are among its closest living relatives today.
Period and Habitat
- This creature lived approximately 80 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period.
- A huge inland sea known as the Western Interior Seaway split North America into two distinct landmasses during that era.
Size and Physical Features
- The biggest known specimen is named Bunker and measures about 13.2 metres in length.
- This makes it larger than the famous Tyrannosaurus rex specimen Sue, which reaches about 12.2 metres in length.
- Tylosaurus rex featured a sleek body, a long snout, powerful teeth with fine edges for slicing meat, four flippers shaped like paddles, and a strong tail.
Predatory Traits and Classification
- Its strong jaw and neck muscles show that it could overpower large prey and act as an apex marine predator.
- Mosasaurs were sea reptiles found all over the world that developed from land-living lizards and grew into top hunters near the end of the dinosaur era.
- The name Tylosaurus rex translates to king of the tylosaurs, inspired by Tyrannosaurus rex, even though the two did not live at the same time.