Sixty-six million years ago, our oceans were home to real-life sea monsters, the mosasaurs. These were colossal marine reptiles that coexisted with the last of the dinosaurs. Growing up to an astonishing 12 meters in length, mosasaurs resembled a blend of the modern Komodo dragon with flippers and the sleek, shark-like tail. Their diversity was astounding, with dozens of species evolving to fill various ecological niches. Some were dedicated fish and squid hunters, while others had a taste for shellfish or ammonites.
Recently, a remarkable discovery has shed light on a new species of mosasaur that preyed on large marine creatures, including other mosasaurs. This newfound species has been named Thalassotitan atrox and was unearthed in the Oulad Abdoun Basin of Khouribga Province, just an hour outside of Casablanca, Morocco.
During the late Cretaceous period, sea levels were significantly higher, resulting in vast areas of Africa being submerged. Ocean currents, driven by the trade winds, brought nutrient-rich waters to the surface, creating thriving marine ecosystems. These seas teemed with fish, attracting apex predators—the mosasaurs. Among them, the giant Thalassotitan reigned supreme. Measuring nine meters in length and boasting a massive 1.3-meter-long head, it was undoubtedly the most formidable creature in the ocean.
What set Thalassotitan apart from other mosasaurs was its unique anatomy. While most mosasaurs possessed long jaws and small teeth suited for catching fish, Thalassotitan’s build was radically different. It featured a short, wide snout with powerful jaws, reminiscent of a killer whale. The back of its skull was broad to accommodate massive jaw muscles, giving it an incredibly strong bite. These anatomical features indicated that Thalassotitan was adapted to attack and tear apart large marine animals.
Its formidable, conical teeth bore a striking resemblance to those of orcas, and the tips of these teeth showed signs of chipping, breaking, and grinding. Such pronounced wear, not seen in fish-eating mosasaurs, suggests that Thalassotitan frequently used its teeth to bite into the bones of marine reptiles like plesiosaurs, sea turtles, and even other mosasaurs.
Interestingly, the same site where Thalassotitan was discovered also yielded what appear to be fossilized remains of its victims. The rocks containing Thalassotitan skulls and skeletons are rife with partially digested bones from mosasaurs and plesiosaurs. The teeth of these creatures, including those from the half-meter-long skull of a long-necked plesiosaur, have been partially eroded, presumably by stomach acid.
This evidence suggests that these prey animals were killed, consumed, and subsequently regurgitated by a large predator—Thalassotitan emerges as the prime suspect. Sitting at the pinnacle of the marine food chain, Thalassotitan offers critical insights into ancient marine ecosystems and how they evolved during the Cretaceous period.
The discovery of Thalassotitan provides a snapshot of marine ecosystems just before the cataclysmic asteroid impact that occurred 66 million years ago, ultimately leading to the demise of the dinosaurs. It’s important to note that Thalassotitan was just one of a dozen mosasaur species living in the waters off Morocco. While mosasaurs constituted only a fraction of the thousands of species inhabiting the oceans, the diversity of these predators implies that lower trophic levels of the food chain were equally diverse, ensuring enough sustenance to support such a variety of predators.
This suggests that marine ecosystems were not in decline leading up to the asteroid impact. Instead, mosasaurs, along with other creatures like plesiosaurs, giant sea turtles, ammonites, and numerous species of fish, mollusks, sea urchins, and crustaceans, thrived in a thriving marine environment. Their rapid extinction was the result of an unforeseen catastrophe—the Chicxulub asteroid impact. Like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky, their end was swift, definitive, and unpredictable.
Interestingly, the evolution of giant carnivorous mosasaurs shares some intriguing parallels with the evolution of another family of predators—the Tyrannosauridae. The colossal Tyrannosaurus rex emerged on land around the same time that mosasaurs became apex predators in the oceans. This correlation may not be coincidental.
Both mosasaurs and tyrannosaurs began diversifying and growing larger approximately 90 million years ago, during the Turonian stage of the Cretaceous period. This coincided with significant extinctions on both land and in the sea around 94 million years ago, at the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary.
These extinctions were associated with extreme global warming—a “supergreenhouse” climate—driven by volcanic emissions of CO2. Following these extinctions, giant predatory plesiosaurs disappeared from the seas, and giant allosaurid predators were wiped out on land. With these predator niches vacant, mosasaurs and tyrannosaurs ascended to the role of top predators. Though they ultimately succumbed to mass extinction, Thalassotitan and T. rex had initially evolved in response to an earlier mass extinction event.
The story of Thalassotitan and its fellow apex predators reminds us that being a top predator in any ecosystem carries inherent risks. As one ascends the food chain, the number of individuals available as prey decreases. Predators require abundant food sources, making them vulnerable if their food supply is disrupted.
The sensitivity of apex predators to environmental changes makes them valuable subjects for studying extinction events. These creatures underscore the idea that being a top predator is an evolutionarily risky strategy. Over relatively short timescales, evolution can drive the development of larger and more dangerous predators, but it also makes their survival contingent on stable and abundant prey populations—a delicate balance that can be easily upset.
