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Study: Ancient Mosasaurs Gave Birth In Open Sea

Posted by samzenpus on from the we're-going-to-need-a-bigger-doula dept.

An anonymous reader writes A new study published in the journal Palaeontology finds that Mosasaurs, the large marine lizards that once populated the waters about 65 million years ago, gave birth to live young in the open ocean. "Mosasaurs are among the best-studied groups of Mesozoic vertebrate animals, but evidence regarding how they were born and what baby mosasaur ecology was like has historically been elusive," said Daniel Field, lead author of a study published online April 10 in the journal Palaeontology. Field is a doctoral candidate in the lab of Jacques Gauthier in Yale's Department of Geology and Geophysics."

8 of 24 comments (clear)

  1. And now it's extinct. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    Lesson: Don't give birth in open sea.

  2. But, the alternative was.. by See+Attached · · Score: 2

    The alternative for them was on land? I dont get the mysery of this one. Did hey have nests? Were they territorial? news that matters. please.

    --
    Time for a new Political party in the US (or two!) One is off the rails Other cant pony up a leader.
    1. Re:But, the alternative was.. by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The alternative for them was on land?

      No, the alternative would have been coastal waters, or an estuary. But there are fewer predators farther out at sea, so they baby would have been safer. The trade off is that there isn't much food out there, so the baby mososaurs would soon have to swim back towards shore, unless the mom could feed them somehow, maybe by regurgitation.

    2. Re:But, the alternative was.. by youngone · · Score: 2

      The alternatives were land, or coastal waters, as the comment below. Seals and turtles among other mostly marine animals lay eggs or give birth on land, so it may have been possible for Mosasaurs. Except that these researchers are saying that it wasn't.

    3. Re:But, the alternative was.. by Chuckstar · · Score: 4, Informative

      Previously, there had been a dearth of evidence of very young (i.e. newborn) Mosasaurs in both open ocean and coastal deposits. That made people think perhaps they used land nests far up rivers, such that newborns would be found in riverbed/riverbank deposits instead of ocean deposits. And that we simply haven't found the right river fossil bed locations for them, yet.

      This new study shows that some skeletons that had originally been thought to be birds, were in fact young Mosasaurs. This reverses the whole thought process, as they now have evidence of very young individuals being found out in the open ocean. Young enough individuals, and far enough out in the deep ocean, that the most likely explanation is that they were born there.

  3. "Ancient mosasaurs" by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    As opposed to all the modern mosasaurs.

  4. Re:Stuff that matters? by TapeCutter · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is there any other kind?

    --
    And did you exchange a walk on part in the war for a lead role in a cage? - Pink Floyd.
  5. Re:Stuff that matters? by dreamchaser · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Truly spoken by someone with a seven digit ID. Anything about dinosaurs or related kin is definitely News for Nerds and as such is Stuff that Matters to many of us who wouldn't have seen it otherwise. Now, get off my lawn.