Forgotten Monsters of the Triassic Seas

Under the Triassic waves, some of the most interesting organisms in our planet’s history evolved. Although often overlooked, the Triassic was an era of incredible adaptation.
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Around 251 million years ago, the sun rose on the Triassic period. Although sometimes overlooked, the Triassic marked the evolution of some of the most unique organisms in our planet’s history — especially under the waves. Within the waters of the Triassic dwelt reptiles with hammer-shaped faces, fish with buzz-saw like teeth which confounded scientists for centuries, and some of the largest — and most often forgotten — marine predators of all time.

The Triassic Period began with a global cataclysm. An extinction event known as the Great Dying, caused by elevated temperatures and oceanic acidification, resulted in over ninety percent of all life in the oceans (including the long-enduring trilobites) dying out. But in the wake of this great reset, new species emerged, growing to fill the abundance of unoccupied niches — resulting in some truly surreal adaptations.

So, for this entry into the archive, we’ll be winding back the clock and looking at the undersea organisms of the Triassic.

0:00 The Triassic Seas
1:01 Henodus
1:48 Cyamodus
2:20 Mastodonsaurus
3:11 Helicoprion
4:43 Atopodentatus
5:48 Other Sauropterygia & Plesiosauria
6:45 Ichthyosaurus
9:26 Outro

Academic Sources:

Henodus - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/an...
Cyamodus - http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/s...
Mastodonsaurus - http://www.prehistoric-wildlife.com/s...
Helicoprion - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/sc...
Atopodentatus - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2...
Plesiosauria - https://education.nationalgeographic....
Ichthyosaurus and Mary Anning - https://oumnh.ox.ac.uk/learn-mary-ann...

Thumbnail image credit goes to the talented Raúl Martin

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*Correction: the Temnodontosaurus is an early Jurassic ichthyosaur genus, not a Triassic one

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