Do you want to know everything about aquatic dinosaurs? So you can not miss all this information; You will find their way of feeding, how they originated, their different species and names.
Aquatic or marine dinosaurs
Speaking on a scientific level of aquatic dinosaurs is considered somewhat inaccurate, this is because true dinosaurs only lived on land. But not only this, but you can see a structure on the hip that these marine animals did not have.
In addition to that, it can be established that the dinosaurs were part of the Archosaurs that were on planet earth in the Mesozoic era, so this does not match either to be able to call them marine dinosaurs.
If you look at marine life in the years when the dinosaurs existed, it was invaded by marine reptiles which were large, so much so that they could currently swallow a great white shark in one bite. These were considered predators that were at the top of the food chain.
Origin of aquatic or marine dinosaurs
According to scientific and historical data, it is established that these marine reptiles began their life in the Triassic period, which means that it was more than two hundred million years ago; The largest known data is the long-necked Plesiosaur, however, later it was learned that this was not the case, but that this was the counterpart of the Loch Ness monster.
These include the ichthyosaurs, which are also called fish lizards. At the time that the great Permian extinction occurred, much of the marine life was lost as it was known until then, so that later new life unknown at that time arrived, among which is the already mentioned, the ichthyosaur, who were the first.
The latter could measure at least thirty-two inches and at most about seventy-two.
Food for aquatic dinosaurs?
It is usually one of the great questions and curiosities that arise regarding these animals, and the answer is that it is thought, according to the data collected up to now, that they were carnivores, so they ate other fish, small reptiles, squid and others. animals that resided at the bottom of the ocean.
Other data assures that they ate mollusks and small creatures, scientists after long studies and observations established that there were plesiosaurs that were "bottom eaters", what is meant by this is that they ate snails and clams.
Some species of prehistoric marine reptiles
The sea is a universe that hides any number of creatures that until today with all the technological advances are unknown, due to its immensity and the continuous mobility that these beings have.
To date, at least one hundred different species of ichthyosaurs have been discovered, of which it was specified that they were part of the reptiles, among them are the Besanosaurus and the Ophthalmosaurus; you will also discover many others types of dinosaurs
As the so-called marine dinosaurs were studied, the plesiosaurs arrived, which lived by consuming fish and other small animals. They were called sea serpents that came from the Mesozoic era, they were very long. Let's see next, the following list of aquatic dinosaurs
Iciosaurio
This marine animal lived in the Jurassic period, which dates back more than two hundred years ago, current data has revealed that it lived in many areas of the oceans around the planet. It was an animal that ate meat, that is, it belonged to the Carnivorous dinosaurs and had a length of almost two meters and weighed between eighty and ninety-two kilograms.
Its name means fish lizard, it is established that in a certain way this is the ancestor of the dolphins as they are known today. The bones of both his eyes and those of his ears were very long, so both senses were highly developed; It is also considered that it could swim at high speeds, reaching forty kilometers per hour.
askeptosaurus
This establishes that it existed in the Triassic period which occurred more than two hundred and thirty-five years ago, this unlike the previous one was not located in all the world's oceans, but was located in various areas of Europe such as Italy and Switzerland , proving itself by the findings of the fossils; They ate especially meat.
It was one meter eighty-three long and weighed between twenty-three and thirty-two kilograms. Although the main places reside in the European continent, it is not ruled out that they have moved to other areas. Their routine usually occurred in the water and they only came out onto dry land to incubate their eggs.
elasmosaurus
This one already lived to finish the Cretaceous era which happened less than the previous ones, calculating a little more than seventy million years ago.
Like the first or explained, it is estimated that it lived in all the oceans that cover the planet earth, its diet was based on meat, it could be almost fourteen meters long and its weight was approximately two thousand kilos, but it could reach the three thousand
Its name means ribbon lizard, its family is called Elasmosauridae; It had seventy-one vertebrae, its head was flat and its teeth were conical. The fins were shaped like oars, so it was very useful for moving through the water.
Megalodon
Its period is even closer than all those mentioned above, since it resides only approximately twenty-eight million years ago, a period known as the Oligocene. This was also distributed throughout the oceans. It belonged to the order called Lamniformes. Is he largest sea dinosaur
The length of these can be stipulated between fifteen and twenty meters and could weigh up to fifty tons, their diet was based on meat. It is said that it is a kind of shark, which also lived a long time because it had great abilities to adapt to different seas.
It is considered to be one of the deadliest predators of all existence, its name means big tooth, this being a graphic and exact representation of its physical appearance.
liopleurodon
The period in which this aquatic dinosaur existed is the Jurassic, that is, more than one hundred and forty-four years ago. Its fossils have been obtained in the French European country, it belongs to the order called Pliosauridae.
It had a length of at least thirty meters and could weigh up to one hundred and fifty tons, it fed exclusively on meat. It is considered one of the largest carnivores in all of history, it was the rival of many other animals to which it caused great terror, its teeth were super sharp and its mouth extremely large.
His agility in the water was amazing, he even fed on the largest fish, using impulse strategies.
Kronosaurus
Another of the water dinosaurs, it lived ninety-five million years ago, in the so-called Lower Cretaceous. Its fossils have been found in areas of South America and Australia. The order to which it belongs is the one called plesiosauria. It had a length of almost eleven meters and in terms of its weight it was at least twelve tons, its diet was based on meat like the previous ones.
Its fossils were obtained in the seas of the world, its name was given by the God kronos, it is also said that it is a distant relative of crocodiles due to its enormous physical resemblance, both are very long and their jaws are also very similar.
It is estimated that its head possessed great strength, with its jaws it grabbed the prey that would be consumed, which it crushed its bones; Stones have been found in his stomach.
Livyatan melvillei
The period in which he lived is called the Miocene, which dates back to about fifteen million years ago; its fossils have been obtained in Peru and have revealed that it had a length of at least seventeen and a half meters.
The order to which it belongs is called Physeteroidea; its weight was approximately thirty tons and its diet was meat exclusively.
The teeth of these are the ones that until now have more records, with them they could tear any type of meat since they were thirty-six centimeters long. Its head was flat and its bones quite hard and highly resistant.
Dark Osteus
Another of the aquatic dinosaurs, its period of existence is in the so-called Upper Devonian, which dates back to three hundred and sixty-eight million years ago, its fossils have been found in North America, Africa and Europe. They belong to the order called Arthorida. Its length was approximately ten meters and it could weigh six tons.
His diet was based on meat, he was an armored fish, his body was covered by bony plates which were very useful to him, since they served him to defend himself from the attacks of other animals; They are even called cannibalistic animals. The size of its fins was not that big, except for its tail that could have a length of 1 meter.
pliosaurus
The period of existence of these aquatic dinosaurs was more than one hundred and fifty-five million years ago, in the so-called Upper Jurassic. Fossils of this species have been found around the entire planet, it belongs to the order called Pilosauridae; its length was approximately ten to fifteen meters.
It could weigh a minimum of eight tons up to a maximum of twelve, it fed exclusively on meat; they are considered to have been one of the longest to discover at a scientific level; It is considered that it was quite ferocious, so it took a wide variety of animals for its food.
Eurypterida
Its period of existence is four hundred million years ago, calling this time Lower Devonian; its fossils have been obtained in Germany; It could have a length of three meters. It belonged to the order Euryterida, it had an approximate weight of one hundred and eighty kilograms and its diet was carnivorous.
Colloquially it is called a sea scorpion, this is because it had a stinger, which was used to attack its opponents and to hunt for food. It is believed that as the years passed the size of this species was decreasing.
hesperonis
Its existence occurred eighty to sixty-five years ago; its length could reach six inches; it could feed on fish, belemnites, ammonites and others. To date, fossils have only been found in North America.
This is one of the so-called toothed birds, however, it could not fly or walk correctly, most of its life was spent in the sea, it only went to land to mate and lay its eggs. His brain was quite tiny for his body.
Halisaurus
They existed for eighty-five years and lasted about twenty million years in the world; its size was at least thirteen feet tall; their diet was based on fish, sea birds and molluscs; its fossils have been found on various continents, North and South America, North Africa and Europe.
They are believed to be closely related to snakes; They also ate their prey whole. A curious fact about this species is that the first fossil found was in 1780, that is, two hundred and forty years ago.
archelon
This had a resemblance to the turtle, it is even called the largest turtle that has been on planet earth, its diet was based on jellyfish and ammonites. Its period of existence was seventy-five million years ago.
She always lived in the sea, she only went to the mainland to mate and lay her eggs; she was about fifteen feet long; its fossils have been found in North America; it is considered that he could even spend months sleeping.
Xiphactinus
The period in which it existed was ninety million years ago, it could have a length of twenty feet; its fossils have been obtained in North America; his diet resided in large fish, whom he chased until he caught them.
It was considered that it had great speed in the sea, and that it came out of the water just as dolphins do today. One of the fossils showed that what he had eaten was a seven-foot fish, so that may have been his cause of death.
Tyloosaurus
Among the list of aquatic dinosaurs, it is considered that these were the primary predators in the Cretaceous era; they were about fifty-six feet long; its fossils have been obtained both in Europe and in North America.
It fed on sharks, huge fish, turtles, small monousers and other reptiles, there is even data that stipulates that they could eat each other.
