#Tylosaurus pembinensis
Tylosaurus means “protuberance lizard” thanks to its long “snout”. This cast, on display at the amazing @courtenaymuseum, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada was originally named #Hainosaurus pembinensis, from the Pembina Member of the Pierre Shale (~80 mya), by Nicholls in 1998, based on femur larger than humerus, # of pygal verts, and some skull characters. It was found in Manitoba, Canada.
Bullard & Caldwell in 2010 moved it to #Tylosaurus pembinensis, keeping the limb character and adding a number of cranial characters. The skull is gorgeous!
These giant Komodo dragon kin were extremely long, think yellow school bus long (40’), with evidence that they exceeded that magic number. One, dubbed Bruce, held (holds?) the Guinness record for longest #mosasaur. Alas, it seems to have too many vertebrae…
Weight is much harder to determine, guesses from 5-8 tons exist. Tylosaurus was “svelte” when compared to some #mosasaur species. It was likely an ambush predator, relying on speed, its large hands and powerful tail gave it a tremendous speed burst, grabbing lunch by surprise.
Being a small Tylosaurus would have been scary but, once adult, only others of your kind caused you concern. We know they did fight and even kill each other thanks to a specimen described in 2008 by Everhart, who showed the world a skull that had been savagely bitten and twisted by a larger Tylosaurus! Google “A bitten skull of Tylosaurus kansasensis (Squamata: Mosasauridae) and a review of mosasaur-on-mosasaur pathology in the fossil record” to find a pdf of this neat paper!
They lived among #Xiphactinus a nigh 20’ toothy bony fish, and #Cretoxyrhina, a larger than great white shark. Dangerous seas indeed!
This was my first time seeing this species. I didn’t even know it existed! When I approached it I presumed it was Tylosaurus proriger, I see it in lots of museums, because the snout lacked teeth in the upper jaw’s tip. Considering it was originally referred to Hainosaurus, I should probably revisit the utility of the character, or at least become aware of its limitations.
#FossilCrates
Fossil Crates