Millions of years ago, the oceans were ruled by a wide spectrum of bizarre and powerful creatures throughout the Phanerozoic Eon. Some of these creatures are somehow related to today's sea creatures. The most popular of them are represented by the marine reptiles of the Mesozoic era which shared their world with the dinosaurs which roamed the land.
Ammonite
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Ammonite, Acrylic on art block, 2018.
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Ammonites are shelled sea creatures which are closely related to squid, cuttlefish and octopi. Their protective shells contain air spaces which enable them to drift along the ocean currents. There are various species of ammonites which evolved from the family's very first appearance in the Devonian till their demise along with the dinosaurs on land at the end of the Cretaceous period. The individual pictured is based on a species which lived in the Jurassic period.
Dunkleosteus
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| Dunkleosteus, acrylic on art block, 2017 |
Dunkleosteus is a predatory fish that was one of the largest predators in the oceans of the Late Devonian period (about 360 million years ago). It is a member of a group of armored fish called placoderms (meaning "plated skin") which have bony armor in place of scales. The most distinguishing feature in Dunkleosteus is its fearsome set of jaws which are actually sharpened extensions of its jaw bones.
Elasmosaurus
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| Elasmosaurus, acrylic on art block, 2018 |
Elasmosaurus (meaning "plated lizard") is a member of the Mesozoic marine reptile order Plesiosauria, which is famous for their long necks. It is one of the longest members of the family, measuring about 14 metres from nose to tail. Living in the Late Cretaceous period, Elasmosaurus also possesses the most cervical (neck) vertebrae of any known vertebrate, having 72 of them in its extremely long neck.
Leedsichthys
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| Leedsichthys, acrylic on art block, 2018 |
Leedsichthys is one of the largest bony fish to have ever lived, with the largest individuals measuring almost 17 metres long. It lived in the open oceans of the Late Jurassic period alongside various species of marine reptiles. Like the modern whale shark, the largest fish in the sea today, Leedsichthys is a filter feeder which primarily ate plankton.
Liopleurodon
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| Liopleurodon, acrylic on art block, 2017 |
Liopleurodon (meaning "smooth-sided teeth") is a member of the short-necked branch of the Plesiosauria family, the Pliosaurids. Pliosaurs like Liopleurodon were the apex predators in the oceans from the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Hailing from the Late Jurassic of Europe, Liopleurodon is said to have a sharp sense of smell based on studies on its skull.
Kronosaurus
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| Kronosaurus, acrylic on art block, 2018 |
Kronosaurus is another member of the Pliosaurid group and is one of the few members of the group to have lived in the Cretaceous period. Measuring up to 10 meters long, it is also one of the largest in the group. It ate smaller marine reptiles such as turtles and other plesiosaurs.
Megalodon
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| Carcharodon (Otodus) megalodon, acrylic on art block, 2017 |
The Megalodon is one of the largest predatory sharks that terrorized the oceans. A large predator, this shark hunted early whales in the Neogene oceans. Most reconstructions of the animal is based on its closest living relative, the great white shark. The most well-known fossils belonging to this shark are the teeth, as sharks have soft cartilage in place of bones.
Stethacanthus
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| Stethacanthus, acrylic on art block, 2018 |
Stethacanthus (meaning "chest spine") is an early species of shark which lived from the Late Devonian to the Late Carboniferous periods, which are several millions of years before dinosaurs evolved on the land. This shark is best known for its bizarrely-shaped dorsal fin, which resembled an ironing board, and lined with tooth-like structures on top which are made of modified dermal denticles (the small, tooth-like scales on a shark's skin which makes it feel like sandpaper).
Xiphactinus
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| Xiphactinus, acrylic on art block, 2018 |
Xiphactinus (meaning ""sword ray") is a predatory fish which lived in the Late Cretaceous oceans. It shared its habitat with predatory marine reptiles and sharks. Several specimens of the animal have been discovered with the remains of large, undigested or partially digested prey in their stomachs, including one which had a large fish named Gillicus in its belly.
Ophthalmosaurus
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| Ophthalmosaurus, acrylic on art block, 2018 |
Ophthalmosaurus is a member of another popular group of marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs, which resemble dolphins and fish and lived from the Triassic to the Early Cretaceous periods. Ophthalmosaurus, which lived in Europe during the Late Jurassic, had large eyes reinforced with large scleral rings which enabled them to hunt for prey in the deep ocean or at night. The individual pictured is a juvenile with small teeth in its beak because adults have toothless snouts.
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