Giant Lizard Found in Hungary
Pannoniasaurus, a new type of the long-extinct marine lizards, mosasaurs, was discovered by biologist Michael Caldwell from University of Alberta in a bauxite mine in Hungary.
It grew up to six metres long and its toothy mouth and crocodile-like body was the terror of ancient rivers and shorelines many millions of years ago.
Mosasaurs, unlike dinosaurs, were true lizards, meaning they were able to dislocate their jaw at will and swallow anything they could get their mouths around. This, it turns out, is what makes Caldwell's mosasaur so interesting.
Most mosasaurs were giant undersea predators, some growing up to 16 metres long, which breathed air but were full-time, fearsome sea creatures complete with paddle-like limbs similar to those of a whale. They lived around the same time as the dinosaurs and have been called the T. Rex of the sea.