It is truly incredible that after so many decades of intense study and scientific research, there is still so much unknown material about the ancient world. Evidence for the existence and life of dinosaurs continues to emerge from obscurity all over the world.
Recently, a group of scientists discovered a new species of dinosaurs in Morocco. The specimen found was identified within the Mosasaurs family and became species number 13 within that genus.
It has been called Pluridens serpentis and like its relatives, it was a species of marine lizard that had its peak in a period known as Maastrichtian within the late Cretaceous, that is, about 70 million years ago.
Newly-Discovered Dinosaur Was A Massive Marine Snake-Like Creature
One of the most important differences between this new dinosaur and others in its family is that most of those were quite small, but the Pluridens serpentis could grow up to 26 feet long.
It was equipped with a strong jaw filled with many sharp snake-like teeth perfect for hunting small prey in our planet’s ancient oceans. However, it is presumed that it had a more limited visual capacity than that of its relatives since his eye sockets were much smaller. This helped to further develop other senses.
“Typically, when animals evolve small eyes, it’s because they’re relying more heavily on other senses. The fact that Pluridens serpentis had so many nerves in the face may mean that it was using changes in water pressure to detect animals in low-light conditions, either at night or in deep, dark water. If it wasn’t using the eyes, then it’s very likely that it was using the tongue to hunt, like a snake,” said Dr. Nick Longrich, a paleontologist in the Milner Center for Evolution at the University of Bath.
The great diversity of species of this family of dinosaurs found in Morocco indicates that this list is far from being closed and scientists foresee that in the coming months they could be discovering more species at the site.
