Scientists Describe New Species of Marine Reptile – A New Mosasaur from Japan

Scientists from the Royal Tyrrell Museum, the University of Alberta (Canada), the University of Cincinnati (USA), Hobetsu Museum, Fukuoka University (Japan) and the University of Cincinnati (USA) have published a scientific paper announcing the discovery of a new species of a type of marine reptile known as a mosasaur.  This new mosasaur has been named Phosphorosaurus ponpetelegans. The huge eye socket in the skull suggests that this animal, distantly related to  modern snakes and lizards, hunted in low light conditions.

Mosasaur from Japan

An Illustration of the Newly Described Mosasaur

The first Japanese Mosasaur to be identified.

Picture credit: Tatsuya Shinmura / Ashoro Museum of Palaeontology / Trustees of the Natural History Museum, (London).

There are a number of mosasaur models in stock at Everything Dinosaur, for example, PNSO stocks a mosasaur replica: PNSO Age of Dinosaurs Models.

A Three-metre-long Carnivore

Scientists have suggested that this three-metre-long carnivore may have specialised in hunting in deep water.  Perhaps it evolved to fill a specific ecological niche, that of a night time hunter preying on bioluminescent fish and squid.  Fossils of such fish along with cephalopods have been found in the same Upper Cretaceous strata on the island of Hokkaido (northern Japan), where the mosasaur fossils were found in 2009.

A Picture of the Prepared Fossil Skull of Phosphorosaurus Showing the Huge Eye Socket

The skull in lateral view showing the huge eye-socket.

Picture credit: Takuya Konishi et al.

Teaching Ideas/Extension Ideas

1. Note that the photograph above has a scale bar showing below the fossilised skull (line of black and white squares).  Why do palaeontologists put a scale bar on their photographs?
2. Approximately, how long is the skull of this marine reptile (note each black and white square in the scale bar equals one centimetre)?
3. How wide is the eye socket in centimetres?
4. Why would a carnivorous marine reptile need big eyes (link to the environment/habitat)?
5. What does it mean when scientists think an animal fitted a “specific ecological niche”?

Everything Dinosaur stocks a variety of mosasaur models and other replicas of marine reptiles: Marine Reptiles and Sea Monster Models.

Year 1 at Camelot Primary Study Dinosaurs

It was a busy day for Everything Dinosaur yesterday, as one of the team members visited Camelot Primary School (part of the Mayflower Federation), Peckham, London to work with the Year 1 classes which had been learning all about dinosaurs and fossils.  Under the tutelage of the enthusiastic teaching team, the children had produced some wonderful examples of writing and some very colourful dinosaur themed artwork.  Sun class had been making dinosaur footprints and decorating them, these were on display just outside the well-organised and tidy classroom.

Dinosaur Footprints on Display

Dinosaur footprints and learning about dinosaurs. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Camelot Primary School/Everything Dinosaur

The dinosaur footprint extension activity that our fossil expert had brought with them should help the children appreciate the size and scale of the feet of some dinosaurs.  The extension activity provides the teaching team with an opportunity to help reinforce confidence with numbers and simple subtraction.  Another extension activity that Everything Dinosaur provided involves a very novel method of measuring the length of some dinosaurs.  This should prove to be quite a visual learning experience for the budding palaeontologists in the three Year 1 classes (Sun, Apollo and Moon).

Let’s Learn About Dinosaurs

One of the “pinkie palaeontologist challenges” set involved measuring the size of Tyrannosaurus rex.  Can the children work together to make an accurate measurement of this fearsome dinosaur?

Tyrannosaurus rex is certainly a very popular dinosaur with the children.  Miss Driver (teacher of Sun class), explained that for the children’s half-term work they had been asked to create a model or a drawing of their favourite dinosaur.  The class had created some wonderful prehistoric animals.  One young dinosaur fan, Zayne, had made a fantastic model of the “King of the Tyrant Lizards”.  Well done Zayne!

Zayne’s Super Dinosaur Model (Tyrannosaurus rex)

Zayne’s wonderful Tyrannosaurus rex model. Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Camelot Primary School

To learn more about the team members at Everything Dinosaur: About Everything Dinosaur.

This is a very creative dinosaur model.  We particularly like the way that Zayne had used white triangles for the teeth of this famous, meat-eating dinosaur.

In what was a very busy morning, we challenged the Year 1 children to produce a piece of dinosaur themed artwork, but this time, could they add labels to it naming the various features of their dinosaur?  In addition, could the class think of some wonderful adjectives which could describe the dinosaur that they had created?

Children in Year 1 at Camelot Primary School  certainly enjoyed the dinosaur workshops delivered by Everything Dinosaur.

To view the range of prehistoric animal themed gifts and toys available from Everything Dinosaur: Dinosaur Gifts and Toys.

Dinosaur Workshops Prove a “Roaring Success”

The team members at Everything Dinosaur have built up a strong reputation for their dinosaur workshops delivered in schools.  Our staff are keen to assist teaching teams and as well as providing very kinaesthetic and tactile dinosaur and fossil themed workshops which are tailored to suit the learning needs of each class, our teaching team are happy to provide advice, support and plenty of extra resources for extension activities.

Contact Everything Dinosaur team members: Email Everything Dinosaur.

For example, at one school recently we suggested that the class set up their own special “Identify a Dinosaur” table.  Could the children use dinosaur books to identify the name of the various dinosaur and prehistoric animal models on the table?  This is a fun and very engaging activity that encourages independent research and enquiry amongst the class.

Can you Name the Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Animals?

A role play table for Year 1.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Dinosaur Workshops

As part of our work in schools, our team members get lots of lovely feedback from teachers and teaching assistants.

Here is the latest feedback sent into us by a Year 1 teacher after a dinosaur workshop with his class (Phoenix Primary School, London)

“A lovely workshop. The children were very engaged and thoroughly enjoyed it.  There were lots of positives.  The children enjoyed handling the artefacts and helping.  They also enjoyed acting out being dinosaurs stomping around the hall.   Following the session, the children were discussing it with their friends.  The follow up materials look lovely.  Going to plan to use them later this week!”

It is always a pleasure to hear from teachers that we have worked with, we are delighted to hear that the workshop was such a big success and that it has a very strong motivational effect on the pupils.  Everything Dinosaur is always happy to send out additional educational resources to help teaching teams and home educators.

To learn more about the company’s range of dinosaur and prehistoric animal toys and gifts: Dinosaur Toys and Gifts.

Poems About Dinosaurs with Key Stages 1 and 2

A term topic about dinosaurs, rocks and fossils helps teachers to introduce elements of the science curriculum into the scheme of work for the class.  However, with a little planning, this subject area, which generally has a very wide appeal to children, can help to provide support for other areas of teaching.

Dinosaur Poems

Take for example, vocabulary development, reading skills and the ability to write fluently.  These are cornerstones of the curriculum for Key Stage 1 and 2 children and by Year 2 for example, teachers are required to continue the focus on establishing the accurate and rapid reading skills of their charges.  They should also be ensuring that pupils listen to and discuss a wide range of stories, (fiction and non-fiction), poems, plays and information books.

One of the statements in the recently published Department of Education comprehensive guide to English programmes in these Key Stages explains:

“The sooner that pupils can read well and do so frequently, the sooner they will be able to increase their vocabulary, comprehension and knowledge across the wider curriculum.”

Dinosaur Workshop

Everything Dinosaur’s staff members provide a wide range of resources to support extension activities linked to the English component of the national curriculum.  A visit to a school to conduct a dinosaur themed workshop provided the fossil expert with an opportunity to read some of the wonderful prehistoric animal themed poetry that the children had written.  Visit Everything Dinosaur’s website: Everything Dinosaur.

Plenty of Prehistoric Themed Poems on Display

Prehistoric animal poems on display.  Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur.

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur

Helping to Develop Vocabulary

In writing, pupils at the beginning of year 2 should be able to compose individual poems and with dinosaurs the children seemed to be up for the challenge, having to devise rhyming couplets for words such as Triceratops, dinosaur and reptile.  All this creativity certainly helped this class cement their learning about literacy and different types of poem, we even saw some examples of Japanese Haiku poems in one school that was visited.

Writing poems about dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures can be a good way of helping Key Stage 1 and 2 children to extend their understanding of English.  To learn more about how Everything Dinosaur helps to educate young people: Contact Everything Dinosaur.