'T. rex of the sea' discovered in Texas
UC expert talks about discovery of new species of mosasaur
The Dallas Morning News turned to an expert on mosasaurs at the University of Cincinnati to discuss the discovery of a new species found in Texas dubbed “the T. rex of the sea.”
Researcher Amelia Zietlow at the American Museum of Natural History and her collaborators described a new species of tylosaurus the size of a school bus that patrolled the shallow seas of what is now northern Texas more than 65 million years ago.
Amelia Zietlow from the American Museum of Natural History examines a fossil of Tylosaurus rex at the Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Photo/Perot Museum of Nature and Science
They named their discovery Tylosaurus rex in homage to perhaps the most famous dinosaur of all time, Tyrannosaurus rex. But mosasaurs were not dinosaurs but giant marine reptiles similar in some ways to today's iguanas and monitor lizards.
Researchers are still learning more about these animals, made famous in recent years as stars of the “Jurassic World“ movie franchise, including last year's blockbuster “Jurassic World Rebirth.“
Studies like this can help inform future research in the field, UC Associate Professor Takuya Konishi told the Dallas Morning News.
Konishi was not part of the new study but has been analyzing new species of mosasaurs for the past 15 years. In 2023, he helped describe a new species of mosasaur that terrorized Pacific seas 72 million years ago that he and his colleagues dubbed the ”blue dragon.”
Featured image at top: UC Associate Professor Takuya Konishi studies ancient marine reptiles in the College of Arts and Sciences. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC
The Tylosaurus rex was a mosasaur the size of a school bus that hunted the shallow seas where Texas is today. Photo/Perot Museum of Nature and Science
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