Paleontologists have unearthed the remains of a previously unknown prehistoric creature in Morocco, an enormous marine reptile bigger than the largest great white sharks known to modern science. This marine monster, named Kinjaria acuta, is believed to have been around 25 feet long, based on the analysis of the scientists who examined the fossils. The unique structure of its skull was about three feet in length, similar to today’s orcas in size.
Researchers, led by an expert in evolutionary biology, remarked that the most massive great white sharks in recent times measure about 20 feet. Hence, the size of the Kinjaria acuta was comparable to modern-day orcas.
The team of scientists suggests that this large species, existing about 66 million years ago towards the end of the Cretaceous Period, was likely at the top of the food chain. During this era, this marine giant would have existed concurrently with land-dwelling dinosaurs such as the Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops. About a million years after the Kinjaria acuta’s reign, an infamous mass extinction event wiped out dinosaurs.
Detailing the appearance of the Kinjaria acuta, they described a strange new creature with facial features resembling a demon and teeth like sharp blades. The creature’s name is a blend of Arabic and Latin phrases meaning “sharp dagger” or “sharp knife.”
The Kinjaria acuta lived in an epoch the dinosaurs dominated, but it was not a dinosaur. It was a part of a family of gigantic marine reptiles known as mosasaurs, believed to be ancestors to creatures like the Komodo dragon. This specific mosasaur was an exceptionally menacing variant exhibiting incubus-like characteristics and a cruel, grisly visual profile similar to a character in a contemporary manga horror series known as “Chainsaw Man.”
According to the scientists, the Kinjaria acuta likely thrived in the eastern Atlantic Ocean in regions corresponding to present-day Morocco. This part of the ocean might have been home to other prehistoric top predators whose remnants have also been located in this region. The variety of fierce predators in the Late Cretaceous seas is rare and unparalleled in today’s marine biodiversity, researchers observe.
Fossils from this Moroccan area suggest the presence of other large predatory species cohabiting with Kinjaria acuta, deserving further study, according to the scientists.
