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A sea monster lived in dinosaur-era seas, says new study

WION Web Team
LondonUpdated: Dec 24, 2021, 08:14 PM IST
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A life recreation of the sea monster, which lived in dinosaur-era seas (Pic Courtesy: Stephanie Abramowicz, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County). Photograph:(Others)

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In dinosaur-era seas, a kind of sea monster lived. These fish-shaped marine reptiles grew to enormous sizes in a span of just 2.5 million years. The new species has been named Cymbospondylus youngorum by the researchers. The marine reptile, which was big-jawed, used to live around 247 million years ago during the Triassic period

In dinosaur-era seas, a kind of sea monster lived. These fish-shaped marine reptiles grew to enormous sizes in a span of just 2.5 million years, a new study has found.  

The discovery says that these creatures like ichthyosaurs grew to gigantic sizes quickly.  

The new species has been named Cymbospondylus youngorum by the team, said a report in the journal ‘Science' on Thursday.  

The marine reptile, which was big-jawed, used to live around 247 million years ago during the Triassic period.  

This full-grown creature would have a nearly 6.5-foot-long skull and be measured over 55 feet, the researchers found.   

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The researchers think that the 45-tonne creature may have lived in the Panthalassic Ocean, a so-called superocean, which was off the west coast of North America.   

In an email, Lars Schmitz, associate professor, biology, Scripps College in Claremont, California, who is also the study’s senior researcher, told Live Science, "We have discovered that ichthyosaurs evolved gigantism much faster than whales, in a time where the world was recovering from devastating extinction [at the end of the Permian period]."   

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"It is a nice glimmer of hope and a sign of the resilience of life – if environmental conditions are right, evolution can happen very fast and life can bounce back," added Schmitz.  

(With inputs from agencies)