Saying Farewell to Mosasaurs

©Nobu Tamura

Clidastes, so long! Clidastes deserves a lot more than that though. The last of the marine reptiles in this two month odyssey and a fantastic, spectacular animal and one of the best swimmers in its family; it deserves quite a bit more than a casual and quick farewell. While Clidastes is not a favorite of documentaries, books, other videos, toys, or any of the other popular cultural iconography and media that is typically displayed on Thursdays here, it is a favorite of the museums of the world. Partly this is due to the smaller size of Clidastes, making it a fairly easy animal to cast and mount in the limited spaces of museums. Another part of why it is popular in museums is that it can be used to show the history of mosasaurs, the fantastic adaptations of a marine reptile, and, of course, it is mounted in museums for its shear appeal as a sea monster. Who could honestly be unimpressed and unhappy with that devious smile in this illustration? This should be a far more popular animal regardless, and I am sad that it does not have a ton of pop culture references to share!