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Ashere — Tylosaurus
Published: 2012-10-17 00:44:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 8228; Favourites: 194; Downloads: 220
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Description
One of the largest and most powerful predators of the cretaceous oceans, with coloration that's a mix between the three great modern marine predators: Orca, Great White Sharks, and Leopard Seals.Related content
Comments: 18
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HELLO YOUR MOSASAURUS IS AMAZING!!!
I WROTE MY FIRST BOOK AND IS ABOUT SCIENCE FICTION AND MOSASAURUS I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE YOUR PERMISSION TO USE YOUR GREAT IMAGE IN MY BOOK
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Great depiction of Tylosaurus and one we'd like to feature for our second artist spotlight for this mosasur in the Family Spotlight segment in this week's episode of Prehistory: A Traveler's Guide. We are also featuring Clidastes in the family spotlight and would also like to use the depiction you have of that mosasaur if that's also fine by you. Same goes for any other animals in your gallery for future episodes, the quality of them is top notch and accurate to boot which is another reason we are giving you a spotlight this week.
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Thanks! I'm super flattered, but I do need to check something first--where would you like to use this art? 
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It's being featured on a podcast I co-host called Prehistory: A Traveler's Guide on BlogTalkRadio. prehistory-atg.deviantart.com/ The link to the show's fanclub on DA.
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In that case, I'd be delighted to be featured. Thanks!
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So has the Icthyosaur-like tail been accepted or otherwise confirmed by Paleontologists to have been a feature on all Mosasaurs? I forget which species it was that was first observed to have it but I wouldn't think that all of them had it.
If they did though, I would suppose it to be convergent evolution to occupy the same or similar ecological niche to the then-extinct Icthyosaurs and, I believe, marine crocodiles (Geosaurus, Dakosaurus, Plesiosuchus, etc.).
I don't like the aesthetics of it to be honest and, on such large Mosasaurs as Tylosaurus, I would think to be absent. It seems to me like it'd be present in the smaller, faster moving Mosasaurs and/or the most advanced species appearing at the very end of the Cretaceous such as Plotosaurus.
If anything I've said is inaccurate, please correct me.
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It hasn't, no. Platecarpus is suspected to have had it, though, and Platecarpus was a pretty large mosasaur. And while you're right that one genus having a feature like that doesn't dictate the other's, to my mind the prevalence of that form of locomotion in large sea going animals (of both the Mesozoic and now) leads me to think it's as decent a guess as any.
I'm actually not huge on the aesthetics myself, and you make a good point that it may have been a new feature. But then again, maybe not. Until more is published, we won't know.
Thanks for the comment.
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No problem, thank you for the feedback.
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Man alive, your eye for marine-life coloration is spot on. The transitional mottling on this guy's misdection pretty much cinches that scheme.
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I've been spending a good fifteen minutes on Google Image search before each color job, looking for inspiration. Thus far it seems to be paying off.
We'll see, though. I have a Xiphactinus and a Protosphyraena I have to do soon, as well as a Basilosaurus, and I'm going to have to come up with decent color schemes for all three.
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A pseudo-proto-swordfish, the Whale that was a Lizard(TM) and veryone's favorite roided-up tuna/piranha fusion? Color me stoked.
Hmm, possible sources:
Xiphactinus- dorado, barracuda, porbeagle shark?
Protosphyraena- black marlin?
Basilosaurus- common dolphin, bottlenose whale? Haven't seen too many dark-tone Basilosaurs.
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The mighty Tylosaurus, my favorite "dinosaur". I can see the majestic swaying from this beast as it moves in to its prey
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