Why did CT scans of ancient reptile skulls show no change in 22 million years?

A CT scan of the plesiosaur skull showed that the skull structure of this long-extinct marine reptile did not evolve much during the 22 million years of the Cretaceous

This is unusual, says Louis Jacobs, a paleontologist at Southern Methodist University

"Basically, apart from living fossils, there is no evolution without evolution for 22 million years," said Jacob, an emeritus professor of earth sciences at Methodist University and the chairman of ISEM at Methodist University

The Elasmosaurid plesiosaur, which looks like the mythical Loch Ness monster, is the largest of the long-necked plesiosaurs and can grow up to 43 feet long, half of which comes from their small head and very long neck

This detailed 3D model allowed paleontologists to compare the well-preserved skulls of C.

"The shape of the skull, the organization of the muscles, and the shape and arrangement of the teeth largely reflect how animals acquire prey," said co-author Michael J.

More research is needed to determine the reasons why Sclerotosaurus may be different from other reptiles in the evolutionary process

Erasmosaurus lived in the Cretaceous Period, spanning from 145 million years ago to 66 million years ago

The lead author of the CT scan study, Miguel P.

Skulls found in the same area on display at the Smithsonian Museum

In 2017, Mateus discovered the almost complete skull and jaw of C.

Many of these fossils are currently on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

Jacobs and Polcyn established the "project to ancient Angola" with collaborators in Angola, Portugal, and the Netherlands to explore and excavate the rich fossil history of Angola, and began to lay the foundation for the return of fossils to the West African country

Just like the exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum, the discovery of the Muklue Heart Stone was also the result of that collaboration

CT scans show that the jaws and teeth of the scorpionosaurs have not evolved much

Marx’s computed tomography (CT) of the skull aims to reveal parts of the skull that are difficult to see in other ways, such as the skull

However, "The high resolution of the CT image allows me to distinguish between bone, rock matrix, and the plaster coating that protects the skull," Marx said
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"Therefore, I can build a 3D model of the skull and be able to study its fragile parts, such as the skull and upper jaw, without touching it
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"

The research team's conclusion on the skull anatomy of Mukulu C.
mukulu comes from the comparison of the skull of Libonectes morgani, Libonectes morgani, which is an older type of SMU
.

He said: "SMU's Morgani bull skull is so complete, and the sutures between the different bones can be clearly depicted
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" "The skull of Libonectes Morgani served as a guide when I made the skull model of mukulu.
Role
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This greatly speeds up the process of building models
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"

The Marx and Ancient Angola research team also compared the 3D imaging technology with the skulls of Styxosaurus snowii and Thalassomedon haningtoni, both of which are from different periods of Panthosaurus
.

Marx said that the jaws, teeth and other skull anatomy of the Mukuru ape are similar to its ancestors, which is a surprising discovery
.

For example, Marcos said that the cranium of the Mukuru and the maxilla of the Morgani have a very high dorsal branch, and the cranial tissue surrounding the orbit is the same
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The skulls of these two species differ only in a few key aspects, including a slightly different number of teeth in the upper and lower teeth, the position of the premaxillary-parietal sutures, and the presence or absence of the wing-like suboccipital bones
.

Marx said: "The skulls of yipanosaurus do not seem to have undergone major evolutionary changes in their history, which is cool
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"