Dolichorhynchops – A Prehistoric Hunter
Dolichorhynchops (pronounced Dol-ee-koh-rin-kops) was a short-necked plesiosaur from the Late Cretaceous. Two species of this marine reptile are known, the first to be named and described (the largest known species), is called Dolichorhynchops osborni. The name means “long-snouted face” and one look at the long, narrow jaws is proof that this animal is aptly named. The first fossils of this creature, called a holotype, were found by George Sternberg, the teenage son of American paleontologist Charles Sternberg. The specific name is in honor of another American paleontologist, Henry Fairfield Osborn, one of the leading scientists in the field at the time of Dolichorhynchops’ discovery. It was Henry Fairfield Osborn who was given the responsibility of naming and describing the most famous dinosaur of all: tyrannosaurus rex
Osborn, is perhaps best known for naming and describing tyrannosaurus rex in 1905, although his contribution to paleontology was much greater than this. He was president of the American Museum of Natural History in New York from 1908 to 1935.
Western Interior Seaway – “Hells Aquarium”
Ironically, for an animal named after the man who would name and describe the fearsome tyrannosaurus rex; Dolichorhynchops lived in an environment that has been nicknamed “hell’s aquarium”. Dolichorhynchops shared its aquatic world, known as the Western Interior Seaway, with ferocious predators like the giant Mosasaurs and huge carnivorous fish like the swift and powerful Xiphactinus, a fish that could reach lengths of more than six meters.
The Western Interior Seaway covered much of North America during the Late Cretaceous, at times during the end of the Age of Reptiles stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Arctic Circle. It fed on small fish and squid, and in turn may have been attacked and eaten by larger marine reptiles.
The seaway covered much of the land that would become the United States
Dolichorhynchops, while not as well known as other extinct nektonic marine reptiles such as Elasmosaurus, is surprisingly popular with model collectors with a Dolichorhynchops replica from the Collecta non-scale model series being particularly sought after by model animal collectors and enthusiasts. prehistoric
From the many illustrations and scientific drawings made of this marine reptile, it can be seen that Dolichorhynchops was quite a large animal. Scientists have estimated that this marine reptile could grow up to 5 meters in length. It was a nektonic creature, meaning it was an active swimmer, using its strong flippers to “fly” through the water a bit like a penguin.
He would have been very agile and a fast swimmer, useful when you shared the water with Tylosaurus for example. Tylosaurus was a huge Mosasaur, a fossilized Tylosaur has been found with parts of a young Dolichorhynchops preserved with it. Scientists believe that the Tylosaurus had eaten the Dolichorhynchops.
The weak jaws of this marine reptile
The jaws of Dolichorhynchops, although long, were not very powerful. The jaws were filled with between forty and sixty sharp teeth. Analysis of scars on the fossilized jaw bone where muscles would have attached indicates that Dolichorhynchops had relatively weak jaws. Scientists believe that this short-necked plesiosaur specialized in hunting squid and small fish.
It is wonderful to find such enthusiasm for models and replicas of this North American marine reptile. Dolichorhynchops figures and models are especially popular with American fossil fans and model collectors.