Fossil Indicates Prognathodon Had a Shark-like Tail Fin
Posted on September 11, 2013
A Lund University-led research team in Jordan has announced the discovery of the fossil of a Prognathodon, an ancient marine lizard, in great condition. The fossil reveals the reptile had a fish-like tail fin, which would have enabled it to swim quickly in the water. The Prognathodon was a fearsome predator that lived during the Cretaceous Period about 70 million years ago. It belonged to the mosasaur family and could reach up to 15 meters in length.
The fossil was initially discovered in 2008. In 2011, Johan Lindgren, the leader of the research team, noticed that the soft tissue had been preserved around the tail fin. Prognathodon was previously thought to have a long, rectilinear body and a straight, elongate tail. The new fossil shows this is not the case. The researchers note that the tail fin looks like a "shark's fin turned upside down." The tail is similar to other big creatures of the time period, such as the extinct ichthyosaurs.
Lindgren said in a statement, "These characteristics demonstrate in an outstanding way how organisms living in similar environments develop similar features, in a process known as convergent evolution."
The research was published here in Nature Communications.