Syntype skull and jaws (MNHM.KH.231) of T. atrox from Ouled Abdoun Basin, Morocco
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Clade:
†Mosasauria
Family:
†Mosasauridae
Tribe:
†Prognathodontini
Genus:
†Thalassotitan Longrich et al., 2022
Type species
†Thalassotitan atrox
Longrich et al., 2022
Thalassotitan ("titan of the seas") is an extinct genus of large mosasaurs (a group of extinct marine lizards) that lived during the late Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous period in what is now Morocco, around 66 million years ago. The only known species is T. atrox, described in 2022 from fossils discovered in the Ouled Abdoun Basin, where many other mosasaurs have been found. It was assigned to the tribe Prognathodontini alongside other mosasaurs like Prognathodon and Gnathomortis. The prognathodontines are separated from other mosasaurs based on their massive jaws and robust teeth.
This genus shows definitely that mosasaurs evolved to take over the apex predator niche in the oceans of the Late Cretaceous which is now filled by sharks and orcas. Heavy wear on its teeth and fossils found in the vicinity of the holotype etched by acid wear from partial digestion suggest that this mosasaur had a diet consisting of smaller mosasaur species, plesiosaurs, large predatory fish, and sea turtles.
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Thalassotitan ("titan of the seas") is an extinct genus of large mosasaurs (a group of extinct marine lizards) that lived during the late Maastrichtian...
Khadiri Yazami; Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola; Nathalie Bardet (2022). "Thalassotitan atrox, a giant predatory mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Upper Maastrichtian...
Khadiri Yazami; Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola; Nathalie Bardet (2022). "Thalassotitan atrox, a giant predatory mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Upper Maastrichtian...
Oussama Khadiri; Pereda-Suberbiola, Xabier & Bardet, Nathalie (2022). "Thalassotitan atrox, a giant predatory mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Upper Maastrichtian...
Khadiri; Pereda-Suberbiola, Xabier; Bardet, Nathalie (24 August 2022). "Thalassotitan atrox, a giant predatory mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Upper Maastrichtian...
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