Taniwhasaurus

In Depth        First discovered in New Zealand in‭ ‬1874,‭ ‬Taniwhasaurus was named after the Taniwha,‭ ‬kaitiaki of the sea that in Māori legend are protective beings associated with specific locations.‭ ‬As a mosasaur Taniwhasaurus was very similar to the famous Tylosaurus,‭ ‬so much so in fact that one Tylosaurus species,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬haumuriensis is now considered … Read more

Titanoboa

titanoboa 1

How big was Titanoboa and why did it grow so large‭?        When initially described in‭ ‬2009,‭ ‬Titanoboa was estimated to have been about‭ ‬12.8‭ ‬meters long.‭ ‬ This meant that in at least terms of length,‭ ‬Titanoboa was larger than the previous record holder for largest ever snake,‭ ‬Gigantophis,‭ ‬by a comfortable margin.‭ ‬Later modelling … Read more