Post by pliosaur on Jan 16, 2012 16:08:37 GMT -5
Mosasaurus spp
As with most mosasaurs, their legs and feet are modified into hydrofoil-like flippers, with the forelimbs larger than the hindlimbs. Like its American relatives Tylosaurus and Hainosaurus, Mosasaurus reached lengths of about 15 meters. However, Mosasaurus was more robust than the similarly sized tylosaurine mosasaurs. Mosasaurus was among the last mosasaur genera, and among the largest. The skull was more robustly built than other mosasaurs, as the mandibles articulated very tightly with the skull. It had a deep, barrel-shaped body, and with its fairly large eyes, poor binocular vision, and poorly developed olfactory bulbs, experts believe that Mosasaurus lived near the ocean surface, where it preyed on fish, turtles, ammonites, and possibly smaller mosasaurs. The animal remained near the surface and although it was able to dive, it evidentially did not venture into deeper waters.
Otodus
Otodus obliquus is an extinct mackerel shark which lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, approximately about 60 to 37.5 million years ago.
The fossils of Otodus indicate that it was a very large macro-predatory shark. The largest known teeth measure about 104 millimetres (4.1 in) in height.The vertebral centrum of this shark are over 12.7 cm (5 inch) wide. Scientists suggest that this shark commonly approached 9 meters (30 feet) in total length (TL).
As with most mosasaurs, their legs and feet are modified into hydrofoil-like flippers, with the forelimbs larger than the hindlimbs. Like its American relatives Tylosaurus and Hainosaurus, Mosasaurus reached lengths of about 15 meters. However, Mosasaurus was more robust than the similarly sized tylosaurine mosasaurs. Mosasaurus was among the last mosasaur genera, and among the largest. The skull was more robustly built than other mosasaurs, as the mandibles articulated very tightly with the skull. It had a deep, barrel-shaped body, and with its fairly large eyes, poor binocular vision, and poorly developed olfactory bulbs, experts believe that Mosasaurus lived near the ocean surface, where it preyed on fish, turtles, ammonites, and possibly smaller mosasaurs. The animal remained near the surface and although it was able to dive, it evidentially did not venture into deeper waters.
Otodus
Otodus obliquus is an extinct mackerel shark which lived during the Paleocene and Eocene epochs, approximately about 60 to 37.5 million years ago.
The fossils of Otodus indicate that it was a very large macro-predatory shark. The largest known teeth measure about 104 millimetres (4.1 in) in height.The vertebral centrum of this shark are over 12.7 cm (5 inch) wide. Scientists suggest that this shark commonly approached 9 meters (30 feet) in total length (TL).
