The Globe & Mail turned to a University of Cincinnati expert on mosasaurs to explain how researchers study teeth for clues about prehistoric species new to science.
UC College of Arts and Sciences Associate Professor Takuya Konishi studies ancient marine reptiles called mosasaurs that ruled the oceans more than 66 million years ago.
The Globe & Mail reached out to Konishi to discuss a scientific debate over the fossils of a mosasaur discovered in Morocco that some researchers say is a species never before documented. The specimen features bladelike teeth like a shark's that differ from the conical teeth often associated with other mosasaurs.
Konishi was not a member of the team that made the discovery but studies ancient marine reptiles in his UC biology lab.
UC Associate Professor Takuya Konishi was lead author of a 2023 paper in the Journal of Systematic Paleontology describing a new species of Japanese mosasaur called the "blue dragon." Graphic/Provided
