SciTechDaily: UC identifies new species of mosasaur
The mosasaur was an 18-foot-long fish-hunting monster
SciTechDaily highlighted the discovery by University of Cincinnati researchers of a new species of mosasaur from fossil specimens collected decades ago.
UC paleontologist Takuya Konishi and his former student, UC graduate Alexander Willman, called the ancient marine reptile Ectenosaurus everhartorum after Kansas paleontologists Mike and Pamela Everhart. The mosasaur inhabited the Western Interior Seaway in what today is western Kansas.
The discovery was announced in Aug. 26 in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences.
Resembling a fish-hunting crocodile called a false gharial, the mosasaur lived 80 million years ago alongside Tyrannosaurus rex.
The newly identified mosasaur marks only the second species in the genus Ectenosaurus.
“Mosasaurs in western Kansas have been well sampled and well researched. Those two factors create tall odds when you try to find something new,” Konishi said.
Featured image at top: UC assistant professor-educator Takuya Konishi and his student Alexander Willman used fossils collected decades ago to identify a new species of mosasaur. Here he poses with a plaster cast of another species of mosasaur. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand
UC assistant professor-educator Takuya Konishi identified a new species of mosasaur for an article published in the Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. Photo/Joseph Fuqua II/UC Creative + Brand
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.