Ancient Sea Monster Roamed Texas, Once Submerged Under Ocean 85 Million Years Ago

Scientists have recently uncovered a fossil in northeastern Texas that sheds light on a formidable sea predator, Globidens alabamensis, which roamed the seas near Texas approximately 85 million years ago. The fossil, featuring complete jawbones, was found by fossil hunter Courtney Travanini in the Ozan Formation and later handed over to researchers for further analysis.

Published in The Journal of Paleontological Sciences, this discovery is notable because complete fossils of jawbones with teeth are uncommon. The left jaw retains six teeth, while the right jaw preserves twelve, described as “tall and cylindrical,” with some reaching lengths of up to 1.5 inches (4 centimeters). The robustness and massiveness of the jawbones hint at the size and predatory nature of this creature.

Typically, carnivorous sea reptiles possess serrated, sharp teeth; however, the Globidens did not. Instead of ripping their prey apart, they swallowed it whole, according to past research. Although some members of this species did tear their prey, others might have had poisonous glands to aid in hunting.

The fossils were discovered in the Western Mississippi Embayment, a basin extending from southern Illinois to northern Louisiana. This area, now dry land, was submerged under an ocean during the Cretaceous period, making such finds in this region particularly rare.

Identifying the exact subspecies of Globidens proved challenging since no complete jawbones had previously been discovered. Despite similarities in shape to other Globidens, this specimen displayed some unique features. Based on the shape and number of teeth, scientists concluded it most likely belonged to G. alabamensis.

Globidens, depicted as gigantic creatures in popular media such as “Jurassic World,” were actually about 20 feet (six meters) long in reality, considerably smaller than the movie portrayal where one is shown consuming a shark in a single bite. For context, the largest known dinosaur-era aquatic animal, Shastasaurus, reached lengths of up to 65 feet (20 meters).