The Mosasaur's Takeover of the Cretaceous

Mosasaurus, Tylosaurus, and Prognathodon. These are just three of the many iconic members of the Mosasaur family. And when you have this many household names, you know you are doing something right. The Mosasaurs were one of the Late Cretaceous’s most dominant forces, and were able to rise to power during a time well-known for ferocious monsters. So, how did they do it? And how did they retain their hold over the oceans and seas of the Late Cretaceous?

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[neonity]

Love it how that little lizard was like: "It's free real estate" and jumped into the sea to turn into one of the biggest apex predators from the waters ever.
Dream big or go home.

[thehiddencryptid]

Therapist: "Elvis plesiosaur isn't real, it can't hurt you"

Elvis Plesiosaur: 1:54

[MrLolguy]

There's a reason why Late Cretaceous seas were called "Hell's Aquarium"

[calessel]

Considering monitor lizards still exist, it makes one wonder if a mosasaur type creature could evolved to dominate the seas once again sometime in the distant future.

[brianzulauf]

Lizards seem to have that perfect blend of traits to rapidly grow and diversify.

[garywebster]

As Jeff Golblum once recalled from his script ; life finds a way. Profound stuff from a movie star.

[dinofanaticgojifan]

Aigialosaurus dalmaticus is the most famous member of that family. It's from Croatia. As a Croat, I think that my country has a lot of potential for paleontology (dinosaurs, marine reptiles, cenozoic mammals, human evolution), but we don't invest enough in it.

[bkjeong]

We actually have a good idea of what killed off the ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs: the Cenomanian-Turonian Boundary Event. (the last pliosaurs lingered for a while but their reign was over by then).

This is also what put an end to all pterosaurs with teeth, the carcharodontosaurid allosauroids (which, like the pliosaurs, did survive for a bit afterwards but were no longer successful), etc and allowed the rise of tyrannosaurids and azhdarchids to dominance later down the line.

[Rexington]

Amazing video. If it weren't for the extinction even. It is very likely they would have dominated for more millions of years

Could you imagine if one species did survive? One is enough to diversify. Especially in a rather empty sea after the extinction event. They would quickly take over again. An whales would have most likely not evolve. And even if they did. They would be nothing more than prey to these beasts!

Literally a sea monsters. It would probably have stopped the sea expansion for humans too. Slowing down our progress in spreading

[JulesBrunoJjBaggy]

I have 3 sequential mosasaur teeth still attached to a piece of their jawbone and I treasure them above everything else in my humble collection.

[Crakinator]

These guys evolved a very similar body plan to one of their successors, the whale Basilosaurus. If that asteroid never hit, I wonder if mosasaurs would’ve taken any forms reminiscent of modern cetaceans, as the ichthyosaurs evolved to look quite similar to dolphins.

[raptor]

my favorite part is when the tylosaurus said "do you want free dino nuggies?" then ate the Hesperornis and then said "AWDDEAEASEWAEE"

[sumirsookdeo]

They were close to eating out everything in the ocean. What an amazing group of species, almost everywhere.

[KingSosa]

Awesome video dude. Your channel is great. Could you do a video on Prionosuchus and other Temnospondyls? Keep up the good work!

[ajpimpsall]

I think your script autocorrected to "nuance" vs "nuisance" @5:40 😄😄
great video!

[CAWCarcharo]

A pretty good video, as a mosasaur researcher I’m impressed with this video. A few small errors but nothing outstanding or major

[timothyvanhoeck]

For those who don't know, Bonarelli Event is another name for the Cenomanian-Turonian Extinction.

[Afrologist]

Truly one of the marine reptiles of all time.

[kenyongray]

It would not have been a good idea to go for a leisurely swim if there were Mosasaurs in the same area as you were. A nice midday snack.

[robertstone]

So do you thank it had a vipercated tung to taste its pray in the watter like modern snakes and monitor lizards?