Scientists have concluded that flipper-bearing, gigantic mosasaurs gave birth to its offspring underwater. Mosasaurs lived during the Cretaceous period.
Mosasaurs, which have been established as the counterpart of lizards in the marine environment, populated Earth's bodies of water more than 60 million years earlier. These marine lizards have the ability to grow to as long as 50 feet and were characteristically described as the "iconic predators" by scientists from both the Toronto University and Yale University.
The primary focus of the study was to learn about the specific details of the environment to which these predators inhabited before extinction. While dinosaurs dominated the land, Mosasaurs lived in the waters.
The research, published in Paleontology journal, claimed that new findings about the animals' birthing behavior were found following a series of studies involving specimens that were unearthed 100 years ago.
Daniel Field, the lead author of the study, said "Mosasaurs are among the best-studied groups of Mesozoic vertebrate animals, but evidence regarding how they were born and what baby mosasaur ecology was like has historically been elusive."
Previously perceived as marine birds, the team was able to realize that the studied specimens have teeth and jaw features that are specific to mosasaurs, aside from the fact that it dwelled the deep ocean.
Dr. Aaron LeBlanc, Toronto University, heralded "Really, the only birdlike feature of the specimens is their small size."
To researchers, the only reason to conclude that those were birds was the size. The fact that it came from the deeper parts of ocean clearly indicates that the little ones were birthed in the open ocean and not from eggs that cracked in shore nurseries, the Science Magazine shared.