A 66 million-year-old sea monster has a unique swimming pattern on Earth

Mosasaur may be one of the most feared reptiles living in the age of dinosaurs, with its enormous size and jaws. But a new study suggests this giant sea monster may have another advantage: its unique swimming ability.

"We know that mosasaurs may have used their tails to exercise. But now we think that they also use the front and tail legs together," said the lead author of the study. PhD student of Southern California University Kiersten Formoso, said.

Images simulating mosasaur species have a unique swimming way.

Formoso added that the double swimming method can make mosasaurs unique among four-legged creatures, both living and extinct.

To get a specific idea of ​​how mosasaurs swim, the researchers looked at the fossils of plotosaurus, an extinct genus of mosasaurs. They also used the chest measurements of mosasaurs from other studies to hypothesize.

The researchers found that their breasts were asymmetric, allowing it to push water out of the body as it swam. Using this method, as well as its huge tail, the mosasaur can swim short distances at high speeds or long distances.

Although it is difficult to understand the biological mechanisms of an extinct creature, a species of more than 15 meters in length, Formoso said one thing for sure: "Mosasaur swims unlike anything else on Earth." .

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