Scientists have released an illustration of a newly discovered extinct species that existed millions of years ago during the Cretaceous period.
In 2015, a woman noticed a fossilized chunk of bone exposed on the surface of a fossil dig site near a gravel road in North Dakota. She alerted park officials, who then passed the information on to North Dakota's Department of Mineral Resources, according to a report by the website Ars Technica.
The discovery eventually led to a detailed research paper, which was published in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History on Monday. In the paper, researchers described the qualities of what they now call Jormungandr walhallaensis, a new type of mosasaur named after a sea serpent from Norse mythology.
After further investigation, a near-complete skull, jaws, cervical spine and several vertebrae of the species were found fossilized at the dig site. The ancient creature was 24 feet long.
Included in the report is an illustration of a Jormungandr walhallaensis brutally sinking its teeth into the body of another. The illustration was based on bite marks discovered on the fossil.
The researchers believe that the bite marks were made during a "single biting event" and provided insight into the creature's tooth spacing. The mosasaur likely died before or shortly after the bite, given that the bite marks showed no signs of healing.
The study went on to say that the bite marks were inconsistent with those made by sharks and were likely the work of another mosasaur.
"Previous studies reported injuries in mosasaurs that were likely caused by other mosasaurs, with numerous specimens of various taxa preserving both healed and unhealed wounds," the report said.
The report described the mosasaurs as "large, carnivorous aquatic lizards."
"After 200 years of scientific study, new mosasaur species are still being discovered as new localities are explored and specimens collected long ago are reevaluated using modern standards of species delimitation," the report said.
Lead author Amelia Zietlow, a Ph.D. student at the American Museum of Natural History's Richard Gilder Graduate School, described the monster species as resembling a massive Komodo dragon with flippers, according to a report from LiveScience. The new species closely resembled two known mosasaur species.
"As these animals evolved into these giant sea monsters, they were constantly making changes," Zietlow said. "This work gets us one step closer to understanding how all these different forms are related to one another."
Newsweek reached out to Zietlow by email for further comment.
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