According to Japanese scientists. The blue dragon just described (Megapterygius wakayaminsis) “terrorized” the seas of the Pacific Ocean about 72 million years ago. Its large hind flippers and long tail allowed the mosasaurus to move very quickly through the depths of the ocean.
The dragon’s back had a fin similar to a shark’s fin. It helped her turn quickly and accurately in the water. The reptile’s hind flippers were longer than the front flippers and even longer than the head, a phenomenon unique among mosasaurs. Thanks to these features, he was able to hunt his victims efficiently and effectively.
Although dragons are legendary creatures known in Chinese and Japanese folklore, the mosasaur just described was named after the dragon and Wakayama Prefecture, where the reptile’s remains were discovered.
“In China, dragons make thunder and live in the sky. In Japanese mythology, they are sea creatures– says University of Cincinnati professor Takuya Konishi, who has devoted most of his career to researching ancient marine reptiles.
Almost complete remains of the blue dragon were discovered along the Aridagawa River in 2006, according to scientists It is the most complete mosasaurus skeleton ever found in Japan And in the Pacific Northwest.
“I thought I knew mosasaurs well, but… I saw something I had never seen before“- Professor Konishi adds.
Mosasaurs are a family of giant, extinct carnivorous serpentine reptiles that lived in marine waters during the Late Cretaceous. The first mosasaur remains were excavated in a quarry in Maastricht, Netherlands in the Meuse Valley in 1778 (hence the name comes from the Meuse River and the city).
Mosasaurs weren’t dinosaurs;. Their distinctive feature was the body covered with scales. Reptiles lived in prehistoric oceans about 100 to 66 million years ago. Mosasaurs were victims of the mass extinction, the same extinction that killed almost all the dinosaurs (asteroid impact).
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