A long time ago, in the waters of what is now Morocco, a giant sea monster, the Dragon, ruled the waters, CNET reported. It is not a dinosaur, but a marine lizard that eats its prey and spits out bones. A team of researchers led by paleontologist Nick Longrich of the University of Bath described a giant neodysperm species in a study published online this week in the journal Cretaceous Studies: Thalassotitan atrox. In a statement on Wednesday, the researchers said: "At the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago, sea monsters really existed. ”
When the Tyrannosaurus rex became the overlord of the land, this new dragon multiplied in the water. "Thalassotitan is an amazing, terrifying animal," Longrich said. "Imagine Komodo dragons hybridizing with great white sharks, Tyrannosaurus rex hybridizing with killer whales. ”
Thalassotitan grew to nearly 30 feet (9 meters) long. As a top predator, it will use its massive, killer whale-like teeth and hinged jaw to devour other marine reptiles. Fossils show that the animals' teeth were ground out, suggesting they were injured while chewing the bones of their prey.
In the fossil beds where Thalassotitan was preserved, a lot happened. The researchers suspect they also found evidence of the giant predator's prey: a large fish, a sea turtle, a plesiosaur (another marine reptile) and fragments of other dragon species, all showing signs of acid damage. This suggests that they stayed in Thalassotitan's stomach for some time. Longrich called acid damage and the proximity of prey to the Thalassotitan fossil "circumstantial evidence," but said it may not be a coincidence.
Morocco is a hotspot for dragon fossils. Longrich noted in a blog post that as many as 30 species of marine reptiles may live there. Thalassotitan atrox is a particularly interesting entry in the fossil record, thanks to the extrapolations of scientists about its eating habits.