Jon,
I'm working on an extensive article about the possibility advanced some time ago by a New Zealand palaeontologist that there could still be a population of smaller variety mosasaurs off the coast of New Zealand, breeding. I hope to go into this more deeply; biogeographical possibility, prey sustainability, isolation, etc. The area that I mostly need help in is sighting reports of mosasaur-like creatures around Australia (preferably the eastern coast) and New Zealand waters.
I would be grateful if you could put the word out and also get a nudge to any other researchers out there. I have quite a few of accounts of these creatures but having more will only bolster my argument. When complete I should be quite happy to hand it over to you for publication in the yearbook if you think it deems such.
Kindest of regards to you and the crew, and I certainly hope you and your dear wife have both recovered from your overseas trip.
Tony Lucas
Certainly I will help Tony to the utmost of my ability, given the chance!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I have no direct reports of Mosasaurs in those waters (as opposed to repeated statements that some traditions of Taniwhas sound like Mosasaurs) HOWEVER, a couple of categories can be separated out of Bernard Heuvelmans' Marine Saurians that sound like a dwarfed kind of Mosasaur. On both sides of Africa, the carcass known as "Gambo" seems to correspond to the "Marine saurian" type reported by the ships Java and Ambon, for example.
"Marine Saurian" Mosasaur-like reports seem to come in both outsized and and undersized categories not recognized by Heuvelmans. I believe that something from the outsized category has been seen reported by Japanese fishermen near New Zealand and passed along by Sweeney, but I do not own a copy of that book.
Thank you Dale any help is greatly appreciated,
ReplyDeleteIsn't it more likley these sightings refer to Indopacific crocodiles straying outside of their range?
ReplyDeleteHi Richard, thought of that and Australain Salities but the nearest they have been reported to New Zealand is 400km North of the Northern tip.
ReplyDeleteIm actually surpised there are no resident popualtions here but the only croc that was here was about 5 million years ago from a fossil jaw fragment.
Many witnesses also describe these things as being croc like but with paddles instead of legs.
Also size in some reports definately rules out a croc.
Mind you, now you really have got grey matter going, I wonder if that is possible that an exceedingly rare totally Oceanic form of crocodile evolved to take the place of the mosasaur. After all, there was a species that was more terrestrial than aquatic, I guess there is nothing to stop nature going the opposite way.
Regards