A previously unknown marine reptile, living in the early Cretaceous period, has developed a unique and distinct tooth compared to other ichthyosaurs, allowing it to prey on larger animals.
Graphic depiction of the newly discovered ichthyosaur – (Image: Dirley Cortés).
According to Sci-News, the new “monster” has been named Kyhytysuka sachicarum, with an astonishing 130-million-year-old fossil discovered in Colombia. It is an ichthyosaur, a type of marine reptile known as “fish lizard,” characterized by a long snout, small teeth, and a dolphin-like body, typically preying on small marine animals—except for this newly discovered specimen.
Dr. Erin Maxwell from the Stuttgart Natural History Museum (Germany), a member of the international research team, stated that they compared the remarkable fossil with many other dinosaurs and reptiles from the Cretaceous period and identified it as a completely new species.
Unlike other ichthyosaurs, Kyhytysuka sachicarum has developed a special tooth inside its mouth, as well as altered the size and spacing between its teeth to enable it to consume larger prey, making it a particularly dangerous “meat grinder” in the ancient oceans.
According to Dr. Maxwell, this discovery shakes up the “evolutionary tree” of ichthyosaurs.
Additionally, paleontologist Dirley Cortes from the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama) noted that this new monster provides further evidence that ancient Colombia was a biodiversity hotspot, especially during the transition from the Jurassic to the Cretaceous periods, coinciding with a global extinction event alongside a massive explosion of new species.
The study has been published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology.
