Fossils of giant sea lizard with dagger-like teeth show how our oceans have fundamentally changed since the dinosaur era
"What's remarkable here is the sheer diversity of top predators," said Dr Nick Longrich of the Department of Life Sciences and the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, who led the study."We have multiple species growing larger than a great white shark, and they're top predators, but they all have different teeth, suggesting they're hunting in different ways., with a short face full of huge, dagger-shaped teeth.
Mosasaurs, plesiosaurs and giant sea turtles disappeared, along with entire families of fish. This opened the way for whales and seals, and fish like swordfish and tuna appeared. However, the ecosystem that evolved after the impact was different. Dr Longrich said:"It's not just that we're getting rid of the old actors and recasting new ones into the same roles. The story has changed dramatically.
"The phosphates of Morocco immerse us in the Upper Cretaceous seas during the latest geological times of the dinosaurs' age. No deposit has provided so many fossils and so many species from this period," said Professor NE. Jalil of NMNH."After the' titan of the seas',