Scientists have discovered the largest mosasaur fossil in the state of Mississippi, a giant sea monster estimated to be around 30 feet long. The discovery was made by State Survey geologists who were studying the geological map of Bluff Lake when they stumbled upon an unexpected object sticking out of the sediment.
The vertebra found belonged to a species known as Mosasaurus hoffmannii, considered one of the largest in the state. This giant sea monster had 60 dagger-like teeth and was agile in the water, growing larger with age. It even consumed members of its own species.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality stated that the warm tropical late Cretaceous seas once covered the entire state up until around 66 million years ago. Geologists were creating a geological map when they found the fossil on a riverbank beneath a bridge in the Bluff Lake quadrangle.
James Starnes and Jonathan Leard discovered the vertebra while surveying an outcrop of the Late Cretaceous Prairie Bluff Formation. Starnes was “completely awestruck” by its size, saying it felt like discovering a fossil for the first time. The discovery has shed new light on Mississippi’s prehistoric marine past and one unforgettable predator that no fish or man would want to meet.
The largest mosasaur ever found in Mississippi is now on display at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science, with this massive vertebra being left behind as a reminder of its existence.
Source: https://interestingengineering.com/culture/66-million-year-old-30-foot-sea-monster-mosasaur