Sometimes just one vertebra is enough to reconstruct an important part of the planet’s history. Chilean paleontologist Rodrigo Otero could tell us a thing or two about this. In 2014, he found fossil remains that, following six years of research alongside a team of experts, were identified as belonging to a type of Mosasaur. The sample can be added to Halisaurines and Tylosaurines on the list of Mosasaurines that have been found in Chile. The report detailing the find appears in the September 2021 issue of the Cretaceous Research journal.
The marine reptile’s central caudal vertebra was found during a paleontological dig on Quiriquina Island in the Biobío Region. It is thought that the animal roamed Chile some 66 million years ago. It is an important discovery as no records of this type of Mosasaur exist in the Southeast Pacific and this will extend the local Mosasaur diversity. Furthermore, it confirms the extensive distribution of these animals on the planet.
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