This ancient mega-predator was built for stealth


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The extinct marine mega-predator Temnodontosaurus had specialized adaptations to stealthily hunt its prey, suggests an analysis of a fossil flipper. Temnodontosaurus‘s lifestyle has been a mystery due to a lack of preserved soft tissue, but fossil remains of a fore-fin have revealed several anatomical details that probably reduced low-frequency noise as the animal swam. The authors suggest that these adaptations show that Temnodontosaurus was a stealth predator.

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