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closeMosasaur Tail
Posted by Henry123 on 07 Jun 2011 at 18:58 GMT
Is a dorsal lobe on the tail of the Mosasaur accurate? If you look at the pictures of the fossil tail carefully you can see an outline, however it is not of a dorsal lobe but has features that look remarkably reptilian. I think the locomotion of this creature was similar to a water monitor rather than an eel. The reconstruction, with all due respect, looks grossly whale/shark like, granted this creature does exhibit mosaic-like characteristics.
RE: Mosasaur Tail
JLindgren replied to Henry123 on 08 Jun 2011 at 07:28 GMT
We do not know if the mosasaur tail fin had a dorsal lobe or not; however, all evidence points at a two-lobed tail fin. Unfortunately, it is not possible to see the outline of the tail in the specimen we described as this part has been chopped away during collection. Nonetheless, there are scale impressions all the way to the very edge of the block on the slab that contains the tail portion to suggest that the fluke was originally much deeper. The preserved body outline, placement of internal organs and anterior migration of the rib-cage suggest a grossly whale/shark-like body.