Walentinia Silverada is a student and colleague at the Instituto de Geología in Mexico City (fresh out from the illustrious clan of the UNAM/René Hernández & Marisol Montellano cradle). She has been studying Mexican mosasaurs for a long time… in fact they have been her thesis and now she has graduated! She complained to me that very seldom mosasaurs could be seen showing their ‘lizard’ forked tongues (based not only on assumed ancestry, but actual features in the skull’s jaws: two holes in the palate allow the odour particles to be transferred from the tongue’s tips to Jacobson’s organ. See Netherlands Journal of Geosciences — Geologie en Mijnbouw | 84 – 3 |359 – 371 | 2005). She also noted that their possible general coloration (based on latest discoveries regarding fossilised pigmentation) is also been often ignored… no less by monster atrocities of the likes of Jurassic World.
So what better way to celebrate her graduation than fulfilling her desires all at once? The coloration we discussed was somehow similar to a killer whale, makes sense… Although I’m still reluctant to take all studies on fossilised melanomas too readily! Things like this make it real fun to do marine reptiles at last…A good start of 2016, and is not even dinosaurian yet! Here are a couple of (hypothetical) “Silveradasaurus walentiniae” in action… and by the way, she specially likes their eyes!
Clock is ticking for the great opening of Hatching The Past in London at the Horniman Museum the 13 of February… Watch this space. More information soon!
Luis V. Rey Blog 