A NEW species of sea lizard has been discovered after researchers analyzed ancient bones.
The large sea beast has been described as a carnivorous aquatic lizard.
The 24-foot sea lizard is thought to have lived 80 million years ago.
It’s thought to be a transitional species that existed between two different types of creatures called mosasaurs.
Mosasaurs are extinct marine reptiles that lived in the Late Cretaceous period.
The new species of mosasaur has been called Jormungandr.
The name is shared with a sea serpent mentioned in northern mythology.
Its full species name is Jǫrmungandr walhallaensis, which also references the North Dakaton city of Walhalla where the mosasaur fossil was found.
The fossil was discovered in 2015 but wasn’t known to be a new species until recent analysis.
Researchers have published their findings in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History.
Study lead author Amelia Zietlow said: “If you put flippers on a Komodo dragon and made it really big, that’s basically what it would have looked like.”
Researchers still aren’t sure if the species was more similar to lizards or snakes.
The new discovery adds a piece to the puzzle of how mosasaurs evolved.
Jǫrmungandr walhallaensis is thought to have been 24 feet long.
That would have made it bigger than a great white shark which only grow to around 20 feet.
It would have had flippers, a shark-like tail, and “angry eyebrows,” according to the researchers.
Co-author Clint Boyd said: “This fossil is coming from a geologic time in the United States that we don’t really understand.
“The more we can fill in the geographic and temporal timeline, the better we can understand these creatures.”
Dr. Thomas Hughes is a UK-based scientist and science communicator who makes complex topics accessible to readers. His articles explore breakthroughs in various scientific disciplines, from space exploration to cutting-edge research.
