A team of researchers uncovered a tiny mosasaur fossil in the gray shale rocks of southern Utah — a discovery that could teach us more about this ancient sea beast's evolutionary history.
In the rocky gray shale of southern Utah, scientists have unearthed the remains of a mosasaur that roamed a once-thriving sea 94 million years ago. The toothy reptilian is a never-before-seen species and the oldest mosasaur fossil ever found in North America, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Cretaceous Research.
Living at the same time as dinosaurs, many mosasaurs had long tails and paddle-like appendages to chase after prey. Some individuals likely grew as large as 56 feet long, according to a 2014 study in the journal Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS. Related: An 18-foot-long sea monster ruled the ancient ocean that once covered Kansas
The scientists uncovered the first fragment of the mosasaur's fossil in 2012, then spent the next two field seasons recovering nearly half of the individual, which eventually allowed them to categorize it as a new species. They named the new species Sarabosaurus dahli — which translates to"lizard of the desert mirage" — in honor of one of the team's volunteers, Steve Dahl, and as an"homage to the mirages often seen in the hot Tropic Shale badlands in the summer," the researchers wrote in the study.
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