Huge Mosasaur fossil unearthed in Mississippi may be the largest ever documented

Huge Mosasaur fossil unearthed in Mississippi may be the largest ever documented

The monstrous remnants of a "sea dragon" fishermen stumbled upon along a Mississippi riverbank could be linked to the largest mosasaur ever unearthed in the state, scientists speculate.

The lone vertebra discovered was associated with Mosasaurus hoffmanni, a species noted for its gargantuan size. Remember, Mosasaurs - these marine monstrosities - were the apex predators ruling the oceans when dinosaurs were the kings of the land during the Cretaceous period (approximately 145-66 million years ago).

James Starnes, a geologist at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, made the astounding discovery. On April 15th, he spotted this fossil jutting out from the stream bed just south of Starkville. His colleague, Jonathan Leard, then delicately extracted it from the sediment.

"I was gobsmacked by its enormity," Starnes confessed. "The thrill you get when you locate a fossil, even as a seasoned professional, never fades. But when you find something unseen before, the exhilaration can overwhelm you."

For comparison, these giants could reach lengths of up to 50 feet (15 meters), with some records pointing towards even larger specimens. One such specimen, a skull of Mosasaurus hoffmanni, is estimated to be around 17 meters (56 feet) in length, as indicated in a 2014 study in the journal Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS.

This fossilized vertebra is an impressive 18cm (7 inches) wide at its broadest point. Starnes and his team compared the fossil with the largest mosasaur remains on display at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, including jaws, skull fragments, and teeth. They noticed that the jaws and skull appeared to be from a smaller individual than the one represented by the new vertebra, but the tooth seemed to belong to an individual of similar size. In other words, the new fossil may well be as large as the largest on display in the state museum and potentially even larger. Starnes hinted that it could be the largest mosasaur in the state's history.

Mosasaurus hoffmanni, being an apex predator, feasted on fish, sharks, sea birds, and even other mosasaurs. The enormous creature that left this particular vertebra behind would have been thriving in what is now Mississippi, a place teeming with marine life during the latter phases of the Cretaceous.

"Mississippi was entirely submerged at that time, forming a shallow, tropical sea teeming with life, including an array of sharks, fish, marine lizards, and ammonites," Starnes explained. "Pterosaurs and even some birds would have been swooping overhead, while various plant and meat-eating dinosaurs roamed the wooded forests and coastlines."

Sadly, the Mosasaurus hoffmanni, like many other marine denizens, met its demise after the Chicxulub asteroid impacted Earth 66 million years ago. This catastrophic event led to the collapse of the rich marine ecosystems that the mosasaurs depended on, eventually bringing an end to their reign as oceanic supremacy.

1. The discovery of this enormous fossil vertebra may redefine the understanding of the size of Mosasaurus hoffmanni in the state's history, as it could potentially be larger than the largest mosasaur remains on display at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
2. Mosasaurs, such as Mosasaurus hoffmanni, were the apex predators that ruled the oceans during the Cretaceous period, feeding on fish, sharks, sea birds, and even other mosasaurs.
3. General news outlets, lifestyle magazines, and technology blogs may report on this significant finding, highlighting the thrill that scientists like James Starnes experience when they make groundbreaking discoveries, and how it contributes to education and self-development by expanding our knowledge of science.
4. Entertainment productions, such as documentaries and movies about space and astronomy, or even historic dramas set during the Cretaceous period, might incorporate the culturally relevant discovery of giant mosasaurs like Mosasaurus hoffmanni into their storylines, enriching our understanding of medical-conditions and general-news topics by illustrating the diverse marine life that existed millions of years ago.

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