Palaeo-CSI: Mosasaurs Were Picky Eaters
Published:21 Dec.2023 Source:Universiteit Utrecht Faculteit Geowetenschappen
The cradle of palaeontology -- the study of fossil remains of animals and plants -- lies in the Maastricht limestones, where the first Mosasaurus was discovered in 1766. The Dutch-Belgian border area around the Limburg capital is one of the best-explored areas in the world where Cretaceous rocks are concerned, the era that came to an abrupt end 66 million years ago. New data can now be added to all previous knowledge: the Maastricht mosasaurs turned out to be quite picky in their choice of diet.
In the absence of data on stomach contents of the Maastricht monitor lizards, the researchers therefore looked at minute scratches on the teeth of these animals from southern Limburg (the Netherlands) and in the vicinity of Eben-Emael (province of Liège, Belgium). It seems that the various species of mosasaur reveal differences in diet. Researchers noted these differences mainly between the smaller species--by mosasaur standards -- of about three to seven metres in overall size, and the larger ones, eight to fifteen metres in length.
But there were also some differences between the larger species. Prognathodon in particular, with its large cone-shaped teeth, appears to have had a surprising amount of shellfish in its diet, so it apparently loved its seafood buffet. Another species, Plioplatecarpus, with narrow pointed teeth, showed a striking number of signs of wear. Perhaps this species was also fond of fish with strongly scaled bodies. With this research, some missing pieces of the puzzle from the long-gone latest Cretaceous world are found.