New Species of Hypercarnivorous Ichthyosaur Identified


Nov 30, 2021

Kyhytysuka sachicarum swam in the Earth’s oceans during the Early Cretaceous epoch, some 130 million years ago.

Its well-preserved 1-m-long skull was uncovered in Colombia and initially assigned to a species called Platypterygius sachicarum.

“This animal evolved a unique dentition that allowed it to eat large prey,” said Dr. Hans Larsson, director of the Redpath Museum at McGill University.

“Whereas other ichthyosaurs had small, equally sized teeth for feeding on small prey, this new species modified its tooth sizes and spacing to build an arsenal of teeth for dispatching large prey, like big fishes and other marine reptiles.”

http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology...rum-10319.html