Carta da dino nr. 1158 da 2 027

Megapterygius

Il num vul dir: “large wing”1

Mangiava: CharnMosasaursCretacic tardivTecnicamain betg in dinosaur

Megapterygius was a huge marine lizard that swam in the seas around Japan 72 million years ago. It had enormous flippers that were longer than its head, and scientists think it even had a dorsal fin like a shark!1 2

Fatg divertent: quest reptil da mar nudava, entant ch'ils dinosaurs chaminavan sin terra. Tuts als numnan dinos, ma els eran in'autra rama dals reptils.

Viveva

avant 84 fin 66 milliuns onns4

Cretacic tardiv

Fossils chattads en

Wakayama Prefecture, Japan1

Lunghezza

6 m (20 ft)1

Paisa

150 kg fin 450 kg (331 fin 992 lb)3

Spertadad maximala

var 38 km/h (24 mph)

Nudar, stima

Cura viveva el?

Triassic

Giurassic

Cretacic

avant 252 milliuns onns20114566, l'asteroid

Quant grond era el?

Quant lung era el?

Quant grev era el?

uschè grev sco 22 chauns

uschè lung sco 6 chauns dal nas a la cuauschè lung sco 33 bananas ina suenter l'autrauschè grev sco 90 melunasuschè grev sco 24 uffants da scolettauschè grev sco 14 scolarspudess nudar la lunghezza d'ina gronda piscina (50 m) en 4,7 secundas

Quant grond era Megapterygius cumpareglià cun TAI?

Mo matematica en tes navigatur. Nagut na vegn arcunà u tramess.

Quant spert era el?

Ina persuna che va a pe var 5 km/h (3 mph)

In uffant sin il velo var 12 km/h (7 mph)

Megapterygius var 38 km/h (24 mph)

In chaval che galoppescha var 65 km/h (40 mph)

In gepard var 100 km/h (62 mph)

chaussas cool

Fatgs divertents

Megapterygius had rear flippers that were even longer than its front flippers, a feature only seen in one other mosasaur, Tylosaurus.1

Its flippers were longer than its skull, which is unique among mosasaurs with paddle-like limbs.1

The shape of its backbone suggests it had a dorsal fin, like a dolphin or shark, which would have helped it turn quickly in the water.1 2

Its skull was slightly wide around the eye sockets, giving it binocular vision that helped it hunt prey. This is only the second mosasaur known to have this ability.1

The fossil was found in 2006 by Akihiro Misaki, who was actually looking for ammonite fossils when he spotted a vertebra.1 2

More than 100 shark teeth were found around the Megapterygius skeleton, suggesting that sharks scavenged its body after it died.1

Megapterygius is the most complete mosasaur skeleton ever found in Japan or the northwestern Pacific.2

Maletg da Megapterygius fatg cun IA — In maletg fatg cun IA che mussa co Megapterygius pudess avair guardà ora, fatg d'in computer tenor quai che la scienza sa. I sa tracta d'ina supposiziun: l'animal vair ha forsa guardà ora auter, e sias colurs vairas èn nunenconuschentas.

tias dumondas

Las dumondas las pli frequentas davart Megapterygius

?How big was Megapterygius?

Megapterygius was about 6 metres long, with a skull about 0.8 metres long. That is roughly the size of a large great white shark.1 2

?Did Megapterygius have a dorsal fin?

Scientists think it did. The shape of its backbone is like that of dolphins and porpoises, which have dorsal fins, and this would have helped it turn quickly in the water. It's the first mosasaur with evidence of a dorsal fin.1 2

?What did Megapterygius eat?

Scientists think it hunted large groups of small prey, like schools of fish. Its binocular vision and big flippers would have helped it catch them.1

?When did Megapterygius live?

Megapterygius lived about 72 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period, in the seas around Japan.1 2

Per experts da dinos

Num scientific: Megapterygius
Numnà da: Konishi et al. 20234
Gruppa: Mosasaurs
Famiglia / clada: Mosasauridae4
Classificaziun: Mosasauroidea4
Vegliadetgna da la crappa: 84 fin 66 milliuns onns (Campanian / Maastrichtian)4
Formaziuns da crap: Toyajo4
Pajais: Giapun4
Chats da fossils: 1 en The Paleobiology Database4
Scuverta: The fossil was discovered in 2006 by Akihiro Misaki in Wakayama Prefecture, Japan. It was named Megapterygius wakayamaensis by Takuya Konishi and colleagues in 2023.1 2
Anc discutà: Scientists are still debating how Megapterygius used its four large flippers and tail fin together for swimming, since no modern animal has a similar body shape.2

Danunder che vegnan ils fatgs

Megapterygius (en.wikipedia.org)
UC paleontologist describes Wakayama 'blue dragon' that ruled prehistoric waters off Japan - University of Cincinnati: Founder of Co-op, Leader in Co-op | University of Cincinnati (uc.edu)
Megapterygius | Dino Encyclopedia (dinosaurmuseum.jp)
Megapterygius in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): vegliadetgna, lieus, formaziuns da crap, classificaziun.

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