Outside the Beltway

Dallasaurus turneri: Mosasaur Missing Link

Steve Verdon · Friday, November 18, 2005 · 2 comments

This is very, very cool. Sixteen years ago an amature fossil finder Van Turner found a fossilized Mosasaur. Why is this particular Mosasaur, Dallasaurus turneri, so cool? Well, it turns out that this Mosasaur still has its legs. It is a clear transitional fossil from a land based reptile to the water based reptile most are familiar with. Dallasaurus was also abot 3 feet long, compared to the Mosasaurs at the end of the Cretaceous that were around 40 feet long.

Via Evolving Thoughts.

FILED UNDER: Blogosphere, Science & Technology, BlogSpot

About Steve Verdon

Steve has a B.A. in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles and attended graduate school at The George Washington University, leaving school shortly before staring work on his dissertation when his first child was born. He works in the energy industry and prior to that worked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Division of Price Index and Number Research. He joined the staff at OTB in November 2004.

Comments

Gaijin Biker says:

Friday, 18 November 2005 at 20:46

Balderdash! This so-called “Moasaur” was clearly a serpent that helped the main serpent trick Eve in the Garden of Eden, but wasn’t directly responsible for it. So God gave him stubby little legs instead of taking them away completely.

(Actually, it turns out the serpent’s leg status is a matter of heated debate.)
DL says:

Saturday, 19 November 2005 at 10:42

There is no doubt in my mind that this is a picture of the offspring of a Muskie and amphibian known in the south as a Hellbender.
Instead of hunger pangs the Muskie, pumped up after eating a bottle of blue triangle shaped pills dropped from ted Kennedy’s boat, simply sidled up to the Hellbender and happened to get lucky. Do I know my science or not?

Personally I think it should have been given a Scotch name, in honor of TK of course!