Smoky Hill Chalk Member in western Kansas is home to a fossil-rich area where a new species was discovered. Credit: Takuya Konishi
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati discovered a new species of mosasauran that is 18 feet long and eats fish. It was 80 million years old.
Takuya Konishi, UC assistant professor-educator, and Alexander Willman, UC graduate, named the mosasaur Ectenosaurus Everhartorum after paleontologists Mike Everhart and Pamela Everhart. The Western Interior Seaway, which is now western Kansas, was home to the mosasaur.
This week, the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences announced the discovery.
The newly discovered mosasaur is the second species of Ectenosaurus.
"The western Kansas mosaurs have been thoroughly studied and sampled. Konishi stated that these two factors increase your chances of finding something new.
The huge marine reptiles Mosasaurs were as large as school buses. They lived in oceans all over the globe during the Cretaceous period, around the time that Tyrannosaurus Rex was around. Konishi stated that Ectenosaurus Clidastoides' long, slim jaws look like a gharial Crocodile. However, the new species is more similar to a false Gharial Crocodile.
Konishi is a professor in the Biological Sciences Department of UC’s College of Arts and Sciences. He first saw the fossil while studying systematics and evolution as a graduate student. Konishi was looking at fossils of Platecarpus (a different genus of Mosasaur) in Fort Hays State University's Sternberg Museum of Natural History when he noticed something unusual about one of the specimens.
Takuya Konishi, UC paleontologist, helped to identify a new species from a specimen he saw for the first time in 2004. He is standing in front of another skull from a mosasaur. Credit: Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative
"It wasn’t a platecarpus. The length of the frontal bone that was above the eye socket is much greater. He said that Platecarpus' bones should have a wider triangle. "That was one sign that told us something."
Konishi believed the specimen to be a type ectenosaur. Only one species has been identified. The teeth looked strange. The now empty sockets that contained the mosasaur’s sharp, curved, teeth in the unidentified species would have extended around its front, unlike other recognized species with a toothless rosem, the bony protrusion at the front.
The fossils have puzzled him for years.
He said, "Somethings just stick in your head and they are hard to let go."
The mystery would remain unsolved as Konishi was busy finishing his doctorate and launching a career in academia that would take him to the College of Arts and Sciences at UC.
Half a century ago, the first mosasaur fossils had been discovered in the Netherlands. This was before the term "dinosaur" was even used. After the Civil War, the nation began to pay more attention to mosaurs. Othniel Marsh and Edward Drinker Cope became the nation's leading paleontologists. They began studying Cretaceous limestone in Kansas. This partnership turned out to be a bitter public feud. Kansas is now world-famous for its mosaur research.
Kansas has attracted generations of experts to study its specimens. They are now on display in museums all over the globe.
Alexander Willman, a University of Cincinnati graduate, was the lead author of a study that identified a new species of Mosasaur. Credit: Takuya Konishi
It's a well-known place for mosasaur research. Konishi stated that it is well-known. "So I decided that I didn't have the responsibility to stake a stake. It will be caught, I'm certain. "But nobody did."
Konishi stated that Ectenosaur's rarity in comparison to other mosasaurs is remarkable.
"We have more than 1,500 mosasaur species in western Kansas." Konishi stated that only one specimen can be found from each species. "That's kind of crazy."
Konishi verified with the Sternberg Museum that the specimen was not being studied by any other researchers and asked them to send the fossils to UC. He was able to confirm his initial impressions when he opened the carefully wrapped contents.
"I had already looked at all other Platecarpus specimens that were known under the sun by then," he said. He said that this specimen was different from all the rest. "It was so obvious to me."
Konishi's student Willman also inquired about working with him on a research project. To help with taxonomic identification, he was awarded a UC Undergraduate STEM Experience grant.
Willman stated, "I was beyond thrilled to be part of this discovery."
Researchers at UC identified the mosasaur to be from the same genus of Ectenosaurus clidastoides. Credit to Mike Everhart
Michael Caldwell is the third author of the study and a professor of biology at University of Alberta, Edmonton.
Willman meticulously illustrated the fossils to aid scientists in understanding the unique morphological characteristics of the mosasaur.
Konishi stated, "I was very pleased with how he brought those broken bones to life." "It made our case convincing to everyone that this is something that deserves the establishment of a taxon."
Konishi stated that the researchers dedicated the project in memory of Dale Russell, whose research has had a significant impact on North American mosasaur paleontology. They named the mosasaur after the Everharts of Kansas, who spent over 30 years sharing their fossils and leading research field trips in Smoky Hill Chalk.
"We are still shocked by the news. It's very exciting," Pamela Everhart said.
Mike Everhart, author of "Oceans of Kansas", said that it was a great honor to be able to share the story of mosasaurs in the Western Interior Seaway of the Cretaceous Period.
He said that Mosasaurs are special to him.
He said that the oceans wouldn't have been safe for Cretaceous swimmers. "Mosaurs were the most powerful predators in the ocean at that time."
Continue reading Did mosasaurs hunt killer whales like mosasaurs?
More information: Alexander J. Willman and colleagues, A new species of Ectenosaurus from west Kansas, USA (Mosasauridae, Plioplatecarpinae), reveals novel osteological characters for its genus in Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2021). Journal information: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences Alexander J. Willman and colleagues, A new species of Ectenosaurus from western Kansas, USA (Mosasauridae, Plioplatecarpinae), reveals a novel set of osteological characters to the genus. DOI: 10.1139/cjes-2020-0175
