Is Platecarpus a mosasaur?
Platecarpus (“flat wrist”) is an extinct genus of aquatic lizards belonging to the mosasaur family, living around 84–81 million years ago during the middle Santonian to early Campanian, of the Late Cretaceous period.
How big is a Platecarpus?
24 feet
Platecarpus was a medium-sized mosasaur with long, narrow jaws lined with sharp, pointy teeth. This marine lizard grew to 24 feet (7 meters) in length and roamed the shallow seas of the Late Cretaceous in search of small fish and squid.
Is Platecarpus a dinosaur?
You can help the Dinosaur Mobile World Wiki out by expanding it. Platecarpus was a species of medium-sized Cretaceous Mosasaurs that lived about 80 million years ago in the North American seas. Platecarpus jumping extremely high. – Everyone’s trying to kill you.
What did Platecarpus eat?
A well-preserved specimen of Platecarpus shows that it fed on moderate-sized fish, and it has been hypothesized to have fed on squid, and ammonites as well. Like other mosasaurs, it was initially thought to have swum in an eel-like fashion, although another study suggests that it swam more like modern sharks.
Is Mosasaurus bigger than Megalodon?
So It was around 14.2-15.3 meters long, and possibly weighing 30 tons. Mosasaurus was longer than Megalodon so yeah. But many Megalodon fans say it’s not true, but since this is measured by scientists, this is likely the real size. According to many scientists, it’s the largest fish ever discovered.
Who would win Mosasaurus or Megalodon?
While a similar length, the Megalodon had a much more robust body and huge jaws built for devouring whales and other large marine mammals. A Mosasaurus would not have been able to get its jaws around the much thicker body of the Megalodon. It would just take one catastrophic bite for the Megalodon to end the battle.
How large is a mosasaurus?
Mosasaurs are a group of marine lizards that would have lived in the Badlands area from about 75-69 million years ago. When they were alive, mosasaurs could reach lengths of up to 50 feet, which is roughly the length of a bus! Mosasaurs were top predators of the world’s oceans and would eat anything they could catch.
Did mosasaurs have tail flukes?
Furthermore, based on comparisons with the skeletal and fin structures of modern sharks, Lindgren et al. hypothesized that mosasaurs, in fact, not only had a downturned tail forming a ventral fin lobe but also possessed a fleshy dorsal fin lobe, together forming an asymmetric hypocercal tail fluke.
Are Mosasaurus Still Alive 2020?
Mosasaurs (from Latin Mosa meaning the ‘Meuse’, and Greek σαύρος sauros meaning ‘lizard’) comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. They became extinct as a result of the K-Pg event at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago.
Are Mosasaurus related to crocodiles?
Mosasaurs, on the other hand, are more closely related to modern-day lizards. The first time a fragment of a mosasaur skull was found, in The Netherlands in 1764, it was mistaken for a fish. In the decades that followed, it was described as a giant crocodile and even a sperm whale.
Who is stronger Mosasaurus or Megalodon?
How big was the tail of a Platecarpus?
It grew up to 4.3 m (14 ft) long, with half of that length taken up by its tail. The platecarpine mosasaurs had evolved into the very specialized plioplatecarpine group by the end of the Cretaceous. The skull structure of Platecarpus is unique among mosasaurs.
Who was the first person to discover Platecarpus?
The type specimen of Platecarpus planiforns was discovered by Professor B. F. Mudge and was classified by Edward Drinker Cope as Clidastes planiforns. In 1898, on further analysis of the remains, it was determined that the mosasaur be placed in the genus Platecarpus.
Why are the scales on a Platecarpus so small?
The structure of the scales of Platecarpus may have been another adaptation toward a marine lifestyle. The small size and similar shape of these scales throughout the body would have stiffened the trunk, making it more resistant to lateral movement.
Which is the new generic name for Platecarpus?
In 2011, a new generic name, Plesioplatecarpus, was erected by Takuya Konishi and Michael W. Caldwell to incorporate P. planifrons, which they found was distinct from Platecarpus in a phylogenetic analysis. In 1994, Angolasaurus was synonymized with this genus.