‘Nightmarish’ sea lizard that roamed the seas 66 million years ago had a ‘demon’s face’ and dagger-like teeth

  • Scientists have discovered the fossilised remains of a new sea lizard species 
  • Khinjaria acuta was 8 metres long and would have lived alongside dinosaurs



The idea of an ancient sea lizard with a demon’s face and dagger-like teeth might sound like a work of science fiction. 

But it was a reality 66 million years ago, according to a new study.  

Scientists have discovered the fossilised remains of a new sea lizard species that dominated the oceans. 

Khinjaria acuta would have lived alongside dinosaurs, co-existing with behemoths such as Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops.

Around eight metres long – about the same length as an orca – Khinjaria had powerful jaws and long, dagger-like teeth to munch prey, giving it a ‘nightmarish appearance’, according to researchers.

The idea of an ancient sea lizard with a demon’s face and dagger-like teeth might sound like a work of science fiction. But it was a reality 66 million years ago, according to a new study
Scientists have discovered the fossilised remains of a new sea lizard species that dominated the oceans
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The team said the creature’s elongated skull and jaw musculature suggests it had ‘a terrible biting force’.

Khinjaria belongs to a family of giant marine lizards known as mosasaurs, the ancient relatives of today’s Komodo dragons and anacondas.

These creatures were apex predators of their time, the scientists say, occupying top positions in the oceans alongside fellow mosasaurs such as the ‘saw-toothed’ Xenodens and the ‘star-toothed’ Stelladen.

Dr Nick Longrich, of the Department of Life Sciences and the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, said: ‘What’s remarkable here is the sheer diversity of top predators.

‘We have multiple species growing larger than a great white shark, and they’re top predators, but they all have different teeth, suggesting they’re hunting in different ways.

‘Some mosasaurs had teeth to pierce prey, others to cut, tear, or crush.

‘Now we have Khinjaria, with a short face full of huge, dagger-shaped teeth.

The team said the creature’s elongated skull and jaw musculature suggests it had ‘a terrible biting force’
READ MORE: Scottish scientists discover ‘very strange’ fossilized ‘Chinese dragon’ that is 240 million years old

‘This is one of the most diverse marine faunas seen anywhere, at any time in history, and it existed just before the marine reptiles and the dinosaurs went extinct.’

The researchers speculate that the region’s warm currents and nutrient-rich waters may have provided food for large numbers of marine creatures and, consequently, supported numerous apex predators.

The study, published in the journal Cretaceous Research, is based on an analysis of a skull and other skeletal remains uncovered at a phosphate mine south-east of Casablanca, the largest city in Morocco.

Mosasaurs became extinct around the same time as the dinosaurs, around 66 million years ago – towards the end of the Late Cretaceous period.

While the exact cause of their extinction is not fully understood, it is believed to be related to the aftermath of a massive asteroid impact in the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico.

When top predators such as the mosasaurs disappeared, it opened the way for whales and seals to become dominant in the oceans, the researchers said, and fish such as swordfish and tuna also appeared.

Modern marine food chains now have just a few large apex predators, which include orcas, white sharks, and leopard seals.

Dr Longrich said: ‘There seems to have been a huge change in the ecosystem structure in the past 66 million years.

‘This incredible diversity of top predators in the Late Cretaceous is unusual, and we don’t see that in modern marine communities.’

He added: ‘Whether there’s something about marine reptiles that caused the ecosystem to be different, or the prey, or perhaps the environment, we don’t know.

‘But this was an incredibly dangerous time to be a fish, a sea turtle, or even a marine reptile.’

HOW THE DINOSAURS BECAME EXTINCT AROUND 66MILLION YEARS AGO



Dinosaurs ruled the Earth around 66million years ago, but suddenly disappeared in what is known as the Cretaceous-Tertiary extinction.

It was believed for many years that the changing climate destroyed the food chain of the huge reptiles. 

However, in the 1980s paleontologists discovered a layer of iridium – an element that is rare on Earth but found in vast quantities in space.  

When this was dated, it coincided precisely with when the dinosaurs disappeared from the fossil record. 

A decade later, scientists uncovered the massive Chicxulub Crater at the tip of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, which dates to the period in question. 

Scientific consensus now says that these two factors are linked and they were both probably caused by an enormous asteroid crashing to Earth.

With the projected size and impact velocity, the collision would have caused an enormous shock wave and is likely to have triggered seismic activity. 

The fallout would have created plumes of ash thought to have covered the whole planet, making it impossible for dinosaurs to survive. 

Other animals and plant species had a shorter time-span between generations which allowed them to survive.

There are several other theories as to what caused the demise of the dinos. 

One early theory was that small mammals ate dinosaur eggs and another proposes that toxic angiosperms (flowering plants) killed them off.  

Reference

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