It’s time to meet the Machimosaurus! If he Machimosaurus is one of the most terrifying animals that existed in the world we inhabit today. In this Supercurious article you will discover everything about this dinosaur, which was one of the ancestors of the crocodile that we know so far. Furthermore, it was a gigantic and brutal predator from another era.
Also, you should know that it lived between the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous periods. This beast reached nine meters in length. It was twice as big as the largest crocodile that we can find today.
Few prey could escape or defend themselves from their large jaws. It’s time to discover the Machimosaurus, the largest dinosaur crocodile in history!
10 curiosities about the Machimosaurus, the dinosaur crocodile
In recent years, the group of dinosaurs known as Mosasaurs has aroused the interest of paleontology experts. And one of the most captivating, the Machimosaurus Mosae, It has been the subject of numerous scientific studies worldwide..
1. Curious name
As in some extinct species, the name of the Machimosaurus is very peculiar and surely it will have caught your attention. Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer was the one who named them at the beginning of the 19th century, but he did it wrongly because he called them Madrimosaurus.
The Machimosaurus Mosae It belongs to the family of Mosasaurs, a group of extinct marine reptiles approximately 150 million years old. According to scientists, this animal was nothing like typical terrestrial dinosaurs, although it shared certain characteristics with them.
2. Fossil teeth
Most of the information that is known about the Machimosaurus comes from the fossil tooth findings that have been discovered since the time of von Meyer. Thanks to them they have come to specify their prey, the size they could reach and even the habitat they used to have.
3. Huge skull
In addition to its large wingspan, it also had a gigantic head. The fossils found of the Machimosaurus skull measured up to more than a meter and a half. With such a head, it is not hard to imagine that the mouthfuls that this beast could utter were totally huge.
4. Various species
Of this extinct animal, up to three known species have been classified thanks to fossils found in different parts of the world. These races had differences in terms of their size. For example, they are known as Machimosaurus Hugii (the biggest), Machimosaurus Mosae Y Machimosaurus Buffetauti ordered respectively by size.
In addition to the above, there is another call Nowackianus, but it has not been possible to establish its measurements because only the experts could find a fragmented skull. But of all of them, the largest found so far has been in Tangier, Morocco; and because it was almost 10 meters long, the researchers named it Machimosaurus Rex.
5. Dams
After analyzing remains of this extinct animal such as teeth and their wear, the conclusion has been reached that Machimosaurus prey was huge turtles and other large marine creatures. In addition to all those terrestrial animals that came close to their domains, something that the current crocodile usually does and that costs the lives of several human beings throughout the year. Although now many crocodiles are dinosaurs.
6. Habitat
According to most experts, these Machimosaurus lived in the open seas, a fact known due to the analysis of the vertebrae of this huge dinosaur crocodile.
Also, due to the enormous skull it possessed, the Machimosaurus could submerge many meters under the sea. The latest explorations in Africaindicate that this large species of ancient crocodile inhabited what are now deserts.
7. Great Survivors
In the mass extinctions and the great disappearances that occurred millions of years ago on planet Earth, there were some survivors. According to some research, the dinosaur crocodile could be one of them, due to its large size and the fact that it lived in the oceans.
This He speaks of his great ability to adapt and survive changes. It is not for nothing that the crocodile of our times is one of the longest-lived species that inhabits our planet.
8. Deadly weapons
One of its deadliest weapons was its teeth, which were extremely hard, since incisions have been found in the shells of the ancestors of giant tortoises.
Despite their tremendous hardness, these teeth were not long but had a rather shortened and rounded shape. imagine the fearsome strength of the elongated jaw of this animaladded to the terrible teeth.
9. The similarities with the sauropod dinosaur and their compatibility
An interesting element of Machimosaurus Mosae is its homology with the sauropod dinosaur.
Some of its cranial features, analogous bones, and the size of its tail are similar to some types of sauropods. This indicates that there could be a compatibility between these two types of dinosaur.
Recent studies have explored the social behavior of the Machimosaurus Mosae. It has been discovered that they were gregarious animals that lived in groups of at least 10 individuals and they could reach maturity in more than a decade.
As you will have been able to verify, this species of dinosaur crocodile was truly fearsome since it had the most fearsome of a current one added to its enormous wingspan. This is part of the curiosities of crocodiles.
For these reasons, they were virtually the top predators in the oceans at the time they existed.
Now we would like to know your opinion about Machimosaurus, to see if the figure of this extinct animal has impressed you as much as we did.
Can you imagine what it would be like to swim in the same waters as this tremendous predator? Did you know that such a large crocodile ancestor had come into existence? What do you think about the hardness of their teeth, which could pierce the shells of giant turtles?
Your comments are important to us as they help us to continually improve.
So now you know, do not hesitate to write to us and share your opinions because we will be happy to read and answer them all. cheer up!
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