Answer: Certainly stronger than any land animal alive today, but compared to other predatory dinosaurs in it's size class it was probably somewhere in the mid tier. [50] The upper jaws in most species are robustly built, broad, and deep except in M. conodon, where they are slender. [40], The fifth species M. beaugei was described by Camille Arambourg in 1952 from isolated teeth originating from phosphate deposits in the Oulad Abdoun Basin and the Ganntour Basin in Morocco. [126], Mosasaurus lived alongside other large predatory mosasaurs also considered apex predators, most prominent among them being the tylosaurines and Prognathodon. [37] In 1967, Dale Russell argued that M. lemonnieri and M. conodon are the same species and designated the former as a junior synonym per the principle of priority. Mosasaurus also has large haemal arches located at the bottom of each caudal vertebra which bend near the middle of the tail, which contrasts with the reduction of haemal arches in other marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs. Mosasaurus fossils have been found in places as diverse as North and South America, Europe, Africa, Western Asia, and Antarctica. In fighting likely took place in the form of snout grappling, similarly seen in modern crocodiles today. [102][103][104] The wide range of oceanic climates yielded a large diversity of fauna that coexisted with Mosasaurus. This result indicated that M. hoffmannii and M. lemonnieri are not in the same genus. 1 / 5. fossils is in the Hornerstown Formation, a deposit typically dated to be from the Paleocene Danian age, which was immediately after the Maastrichtian age. [22] He coined the specific epithet and initially identified it as a species of Ichthyosaurus[28] but later as an amphibian. [80] Mosasaurus was likely endothermic and maintained a constant body temperature independent of the external environment. In contrast, the frontal and parietal bones, which in modern lizards connect to form a flexible pivot point, overlap in the skull of M. hoffmannii. [5], The palate, which consists of the pterygoid bones, palatine bone, and nearby processes of other bones, is tightly packed to provide greater cranial stability. Changing temperatures and an abundance in marine life were characteristic of these localities. [31] In 1966, it was reidentified as a species of Mosasaurus. Purussaurus ~69,000 Newton's. Tyrannosaurus-Rex ~35,000 Newton's. Giganotosaurus ~ 35,500 Newton's. Mapusaurus ~ 31,000 Newton's. The T-Rex has the strongest bite force of any land animal but the megalodon is the king of all bites, on water or land. It would have had a stronger bite than something like a Spinosaur, but it's bite force was notably inferior to a similarly sized Tyr. The lack of a strong sense of smell suggests that olfaction was not particularly important in Mosasaurus; instead, other senses like vision may have been more useful. saturator. The Mosasaurus had 250 teeth, and scientists estimate its bite force at around 13,000 to 16,000 psi. [21][b] Cuvier later designated the second skull as the new species' holotype (defining example). [50] It is unlikely Mosasaurus was a scavenger as it had a poor sense of smell. The 50 ft (15 meter) long Jurassic era marine reptile had a crushing 33,000 lbs (15 metric tons) per square inch bite force, the Natural History Museum of Oslo University said of the new find on . [53], Isolated bones suggest some M. hoffmannii may have exceeded the lengths of the Penza specimen. [13] Later around 1780,[a] the quarry produced a second skull that caught the attention of the physician Johann Leonard Hoffmann, who thought it was a crocodile. In 2004, Lingham-Soliar observed that if these injuries were indeed the result of an intraspecific attack, then there is a pattern of them concentrating in the skull region. In an attempt to do a little forensic work, I took cryptozoologist Scott Mardis's advice and took an image of a mosasaur jaw and compared it to the bite marks on the killer whale's right flank. This was by observing the von Ebner lines, incremental marks in dentin that form daily. ;[58] Paul (2022) estimated an individual of that size to weigh 700 kilograms (1,500lb). Due coexistence with other large mosasaurs like Prognathodon, which specialized in robust prey, M. missouriensis likely specialized more on prey best consumed using cutting-adapted teeth in an example of niche partitioning. Marine reptile assemblages in the New Jersey region of the province are generally equivalent with those in Europe; the mosasaur faunae are quite similar but exclude M. lemonnieri, Carinodens, Tylosaurus, and certain species of Halisaurus and Prognathodon. There is considerable morphological variability across the currently-recognized species in Mosasaurusfrom the robustly-built M. hoffmannii to the slender and serpentine M. lemonnieribut an unclear diagnosis (description of distinguishing features) of the type species M. hoffmannii led to a historically problematic classification. In 1808, naturalist Georges Cuvier concluded that it belonged to a giant marine lizard with similarities to monitor lizards but otherwise unlike any known living animal. [63], The dentition was thecodont (tooth roots deeply cemented within the jaw bone). From an ecological standpoint, Mosasaurus probably had a profound impact on the structuring of marine ecosystems; its arrival in some locations such as the Western Interior Seaway in North America coincides with a complete turnover of faunal assemblages and diversity. It is geographically subdivided into two biogeographic provinces that respectively include the northern and southern Tethyan margins. [42] The number of prisms in Mosasaurus teeth can slightly vary between tooth types and general patterns differ between species[g]M. The oceanic climate of the Northern Interior Subprovince was likely a cool temperate one, while the Southern Interior Subprovince had warm temperate to subtropical climates. Mosasaurus was smarter, had more fighting experience, was more agile, and longer. [46] Using a smaller partial jaw (NHMM 009002) measuring 90 centimeters (35in) and "reliably estimated at" 160 centimeters (63in) when complete, Lingham-Soliar (1995) estimated a larger maximum length of 17.6 meters (58ft) via the same ratio. [74], Bell's study served as a precedent for later studies that mostly left the systematics of Mosasaurus unchanged,[7][9] although some later studies have recovered the sister group to Mosasaurus and Plotosaurus to instead be Eremiasaurus or Plesiotylosaurus depending on the method of data interpretation used,[71][72][75] with at least one study also recovering M. missouriensis to be the most basal species of the genus instead of M. (2014) estimated that M. missouriensis may have measured up to 89 meters (2630ft) in length. The bladed dentition of this 400-million-year-old extinct fish focused the bite force into a small area, the fang tip, at an . That title goes to the Dunkleosteus, the real king of the sea when it comes to biting, his jaw could exert aproximately 80,000 psi, which doubles Megalodon and it is because Dunkleosteus' head was specially designed for compressing, its teeth had a special razor design, and it wasnt entirely teeth . [61] These three mosasaurs preyed on similar animals such as marine reptiles. Mosasaurus is a genus of mosasaur, carnivorous, aquatic lizards, somewhat resembling flippered crocodiles, with elongated heavy jaws. 00:00 / 00:00. [36] Above the gum line in both jaws, a single row of small pits known as foramina are lined parallel to the jawline; they are used to hold the terminal branches of jaw nerves. [q] Two of these cases displayed irregular surface deformities around the fusion site caused by drainage of the vertebral sinuses, which is indicative of a bone infection. [11][50] The scapula and humerus are fan-shaped and wider than tall. [30] In 1854, Hermann Schlegel proved how Mosasaurus actually had fully aquatic flippers. [85] Other Antarctic marine reptiles included elasmosaurid plesiosaurs like Aristonectes and another indeterminate elasmosaurid. The dinosaur had a maximum bite force of some 3.1 metric tons, "greater than for a living white shark, but puny compared to 'Big Tooth,'" Wroe said. [103] The fossil assemblages throughout these regions suggest a complete faunal turnover when M. missouriensis and M. conodon appeared at 79.5 Ma, indicating that the presence of Mosasaurus in the Western Interior Seaway had a profound impact on the restructuring of marine ecosystems. mokoroa, M. hobetsuensis, M. flemingi, and M. prismaticusto be possibly valid, pending a future formal reassessment. The swimming style was likely sub-carangiform, which is exemplified today by mackerels. [52] Mentioning the Penza specimen, Gregory S. Paul estimated in his 2022 book, The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles, a shorter maximum length for M. hoffmannii of 13 meters (43ft) and a body mass of 5.5 metric tons (6.1 short tons). Mosasaurus In comparison, the Mosasaurus had a bite force of around 13,000-16,000 lbs of pressure per square inch. The exact affinities of Mosasaurus as a squamate remain controversial, and scientists continue to debate whether its closest living relatives are monitor lizards or snakes. [7], Conrad uniquely used only M. hoffmannii and M. lemonnieri in his 2008 phylogenetic analysis, which recovered M. hoffmannii as basal to a multitude of descendant clades containing (in order of most to least basal) Globidens, M. lemonnieri, Goronyosaurus, and Plotosaurus. English Mastiff (500 PSI) The largest dogs in the world, mastiffs can tip the scales at over 200 poundsand these canines have bites to match, wielding a force of 500 pounds per square inch. [9], Mosasaurus may have taught their offspring how to hunt, as supported by a fossil nautiloid Argonautilus catarinae with bite marks from two conspecific mosasaurs, one being from a juvenile and the other being from an adult. There is also evidence of aggressive interspecific combat between Mosasaurus and other large mosasaur species. [102] Mosasaurus was not well-represented: the distribution of M. beaugei was restricted to Morocco and Brazil and isolated teeth from Syria suggested a possible presence of M. lemonnieri, although M. hoffmannii also had some presence throughout the province. His calculations interpreted "body length" as the length of the postcranial body, not the total length of the animal as demonstrated in Russell (1967), This erroneously inflated the estimate by 10%. [51] In 2014, Federico Fanti and colleagues alternatively argued that the total length of M. hoffmannii was more likely closer to seven times the length of the skull, which was based on a near-complete skeleton of the related species Prognathodon overtoni. [10] The external nares (nostril openings) are moderately sized and measure around 2124% of the skull's length in M. hoffmannii. As a tropical area, bony fish such as Enchodus and Stratodus and various sharks were common throughout the southern Tethyan margin. One partial skeleton of M. conodon bears multiple cuts, breaks, and punctures on various bones, particularly in the rear portions of the skull and neck, and a tooth from another M. conodon piercing through the quadrate bone. Another five species still nominally classified within Mosasaurus are planned to be reassessed in a future study. Mosasaurus had a transatlantic distribution, with its fossils having been found in marine deposits on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. [36] Other mosasaurs found in the European side of the northern Tethyan margin include smaller genera such as Halisaurus, Plioplatecarpus, and Platecarpus; the shell-crusher Carinodens; and larger mosasaurs of similar trophic levels including Tylosaurus bernardi and four other species of Prognathodon. [53], The skull of Mosasaurus is conical and tapers off to a short snout which extends a little beyond the frontmost teeth. This was confirmed in 2004. Various partial skeletons of M. conodon, M. hoffmannii, and M. missouriensis suggest M. conodon likely had up to thirty-six dorsal vertebrae and nine pygal vertebrae; M. hoffmannii had likely up to thirty-two dorsal vertebrae and ten pygal vertebrae;[i][11][36] and M. missouriensis around thirty-three dorsal vertebrae, eleven pygal vertebrae, and at least seventy-nine caudal vertebrae. This is shown from a fossil skull of a subadult M. hoffmannii with fractures caused by a massive concentrated blow to the braincase; Lingham-Soliar (1998) argued that this blow was dealt by a ramming attack by Tylosaurus bernardi, as the formation of the fractures were characteristic of a coordinated strike (and not an accident or fossilization damage), and T. bernardi was the only known coexisting animal likely capable of causing such damage, using its robust arrow-like elongated snout. The positioning of both bite marks are at the direction the nautiloid's head would have been facing, indicating it was incapable of escaping and was thus already sick or dead during the attacks; it is possible this phenomenon was from a parent mosasaur teaching its offspring about cephalopods as an alternate source of prey and how to hunt one. In recent studies, the confirmation of paleogeographical affinities extended this range to areas across the Atlantic including Brazil and the East Coast state of New Jersey. All species of Mosasaurus have seven cervical vertebrae, but other vertebral counts vary among them. [129] Any Mosasaurus surviving the immediate cataclysms by taking refuge in deeper waters would have died out due to starvation from a loss of prey. Stomach contents of P. overtoni included turtles and ammonites, providing another example of a diet specialized for harder prey. This distribution encompassed a wide range of oceanic climates including tropical, subtropical, temperate, and subpolar climates. [50] The species likely hunted near the ocean surface as an ambush predator, using its large two-dimensionally adapted eyes to more effectively spot and capture prey. [128], By the end of the Cretaceous, mosasaurs were at the height of their evolutionary radiation, and their extinction was a sudden event. Analysis of the tooth marks by a 2014 study by Kauffman concluded that the mosasaurs were either Mosasaurus or Platecarpus. The mosasaur bit the shell up to sixteen times, the paleontologists determined, and the damage probably "disengaged the muscles by which the body of the ammonite was held in the shell", leaving. Mosasaurs and snakes are also similar in the way that their skulls are constructed, including a . [50], Mosasaurus swam using its tail. 1 / 5. These environments were dominated by mosasaurs and marine side-necked turtles. It did not take into account Golduss' 1845 study of M. missouriensis which instead called for a narrower skull, nostrils at the top of the skull, and amphibious terrestrial limbs (the latter being incorrect in modern standards[44]). The rare earth element ratios were very consistent throughout most of the examined Mosasaurus fossils, indicating consistent habitat preference, and clustered towards a ratio representing offshore habitats with ocean depths deeper than 50 meters (160ft). In many mosasaurs like Prognathodon and M. lemonnieri, this function mainly served to allow ratchet feeding, in which the pterygoid and jaws would "walk" captured prey into the mouth like a conveyor belt. [37] At least four other mosasaur genera have been reported in Antarctica, including Plioplatecarpus, the mosasaurines Moanasaurus and Liodon,[85] and Kaikaifilu. [77] However, the study used a method unorthodox to traditional phylogenetic studies on mosasaur species because its focus was on the relationships of entire squamate groups rather than mosasaur classification. hoffmannii. Crocodiles, with its fossils having been found in marine life were characteristic of these localities and marine side-necked.. 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By Kauffman concluded that the mosasaurs were either Mosasaurus or Platecarpus and maintained a constant body temperature independent of Penza! Mosasaurus is a genus of mosasaur, carnivorous, aquatic lizards, somewhat resembling flippered,... By mosasaurs and marine side-necked turtles include the northern and southern Tethyan margins snout grappling, seen. And snakes are also similar in the same genus bone ) likely sub-carangiform, is! Found in marine deposits on both sides of the Penza specimen [ 11 ] [ b ] Cuvier designated...

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