What is Lorrainosaurus?

Why in the news?

• Scientists first unearthed this sea monster's fossils in 1983.
• But in a new study, researchers re-analyzed the remains and found that the predator belonged to a previously unknown genus (group) of species and represented the oldest "megapredatory" pliosaur on record.
• The fossils were unearthed in the former region of Lorraine (now part of Grand Est) in northeastern France.

About Lorrainosaurus:

• It is the oldest mega-predatory pliosaur.
• It lived during the ancient Middle Jurassic era in marine environments.
• The regions in which it lived 170 million years ago are now located in northern France.
• This giant reptile probably reached over 6 meters from snout to tail.
• The animal had jaws over 1.3 m long with large conical teeth and a bulky ‘torpedo-shaped’ body propelled by four flipper-like limbs.
• They were ecological equivalents of today’s killer whales and would have eaten a range of prey, including squid-like cephalopods, large fish, and other marine reptiles.

What are pliosaurs?

• Pliosaurs were a type of short-necked plesiosaur: marine reptiles built for speed compared to their long-necked cousins.
• Also known as pliosauroids, these creatures were not dinosaurs but distant cousins of modern turtles.
• They had four large flippers, large heads, extremely powerful jaws, and enormous teeth, and they hunted fish, cephalopod mollusks, and other marine reptiles.
• They lived between 220 million years ago (Triassic period) and 70 million years ago (Cretaceous period) and were mostly found in the prehistoric seas that covered modern-day Europe.
• Famous examples, such as Pliosaurus and Kronosaurus, some of the world’s largest pliosaurs, were absolutely enormous, with body lengths exceeding 10 m.