Mosasaurus was a ferocious predator in the ancient oceans of the Cretaceous period (145.5 million to 65.5 million years ago). While dinosaurs dominated the land, Mosasaurus used its long tail and stumpy, paddle-like limbs to cruise through the water, devouring all kinds of prey with its massive jaws and sharp, cone-shaped teeth.

Mosasaurus is one genus, or group of species, out of dozens that made up a diverse family of marine reptiles called mosasaurs. The mosasaurs ruled the ocean in the late Cretaceous period. They were not sea dinosaurs, but a separate group of reptiles, more closely related to modern snakes and lizards, according to the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.

Mosasaurus species are among the largest members of the mosasaur family, according to the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum. One of the biggest specimens ever found was identified as Mosasaurus hoffmanni and was estimated to be about 56 feet (17 meters) long in life, according to a 2014 study published in the journal Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS. Not all mosasaurs were giants though. Some species, such as Xenodens calminechari, were only about the size of a porpoise

Mosasaurs were the ocean's most dominant predator at the end of the Cretaceous period and lived across the world's oceans. Large mosasaurs would have likely eaten almost any kind of prey they were able to catch, including fish, sharks, sea birds and even other mosasaurs, according to the U.S. National Park Service. These mosasaurs were apex predators and could be compared to modern orcas, while other mosasaur species were more specialized feeders and adapted to eat shellfish, like modern sea otters

Occasionally, mosasaur fossils were preserved with their stomach contents intact, which helps paleontologists learn more about their hunting strategies. For example, paleontologists in Canada uncovered a specimen from the species Mosasaurus missouriensis with large fish bones inside it, according to National Geographic(opens in new tab). The fish was larger than the mosasaur's head, and the placement of the bones suggested the mosasaur had devoured its prey piece by piece.

In another fossil find, a juvenile Mosasaurus was found in the stomach of another mosasaur species, Prognathodon kianda. The fossil, from the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), demonstrates that even the largest mosasaur species could be preyed upon. In fact, Mosasaurus hoffmanni fossils have been uncovered with severely broken and healed jaws that indicate they led a violent or dangerous lifestyle

Mosasaurus probably hunted in fairly deep waters, but would not have traveled too far from the shore, according to the NMNH.

Mosasaurs may have started out swimming through the water like a snake or an eel, but mosasaur tails changed over time. The animals evolved to have a shark-like tail to propel themselves through the water. They may also have been capable of a powerful breaststroke, using their paddle-like forelimbs to assist in sudden bursts of speed to catch prey.

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  • ComradeLove [he/him, comrade/them]
    ·
    2 years ago

    As an atheist it's weird I care about what kind of Christianity is most absurd. (Evangelicals that preach the prosperity Gospel)

    • forcequit [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      idk if all atheists but most ive dealt with were all specifically anti/former christian, with associated levels of religious knowledge. Same for me tbh, I know nothing of judaism or islam or hindutva (hinduism?) or sikhism or or or

      • ComradeLove [he/him, comrade/them]
        ·
        2 years ago

        Yes. I'm culturally Catholic, so of course I'm going to think Paultians are playing the "living the word of Christ" game on easy mode. Though really both of them should be getting circumcised and not eating pork or shrimp and sitting quietly praying from Friday night until Saturday night.

        • GreenTeaRedFlag [any]
          ·
          2 years ago

          Didn't quite get through acts of the apostles before you quit, huh?

          • ComradeLove [he/him, comrade/them]
            ·
            2 years ago

            The Apostles just can't say "Well what Jesus Akshully meant" when he said "until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished". You're not following Jesus unless you get your Weiner fixed, sorry if that discourages membership.

            • GreenTeaRedFlag [any]
              ·
              2 years ago

              We believe St. Peter was sent a vision by God explaining the old law was not in effect for new converts. If you don't believe that, why believe them about any of it?

              • ComradeLove [he/him, comrade/them]
                ·
                2 years ago

                Just like the goats and sheep parable, (and the story of the begger Lazurus) is explicit about good works being necessary for salvation. By it's nature, the word of Jesus trumps everything else in the Bible. That's my interpretation as an atheist :)

                They changed the rules so it would be easier to get converts to what is a different religion than Jesus preached. It was just marketing.

                • GreenTeaRedFlag [any]
                  ·
                  2 years ago

                  You think cutting your foreskin off is a good work? Keeping the exact letter of the law, like obsessing over not working on the sabbath and not helping people due to this, is one of the things Jesus called out. He explicitly started a new covenant with different rules, hence we don't sacrifice sheep or doves but recreate Jesus sacrifice every Sunday.

                  Moreover, the word of God and word of Jesus is at the same level. Both are passing through human to us. There's no meaningful way to say Luke was being honest when recording what Jesus said and not what God said

    • Dolores [love/loves]
      ·
      2 years ago

      i have a most hated sect of every world religion. :very-smart:

    • GreenTeaRedFlag [any]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I think that's normal and good. But then again I'm a catholic communist so my frame of reference is not useful to judge normal.

    • Kanna [she/her]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I just think it's all bad :shrug-outta-hecks:

    • Frank [he/him, he/him]
      ·
      2 years ago

      I agree and I do the same thing. It's silly to have a list of more and less absurd religions, but there are definitely ones that make me livid for no particularly rational reason. And Evangelicals are waaaay up at the top.