Paleontologists have uncovered the existence of an extinct apex marine predator whose nightmarish face and dagger-like teeth are reminicient of the titular protagonist of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man manga series.
Fragments of the meter-long skull on which the new study was based were excavated from a phosphate mine located to the southeast of Casablanca, in Morocco. Subsequent analysis revealed that the shards belonged to an entirely new species of powerful marine predator that hunted Earth’s oceans some 66 million years ago, at a time when dinosaurs still ruled over the land.
The eight-meter-long (25ft) monster - dubbed Khinjaria Acuta - had once boasted a mouth full of dagger-like teeth that had seemingly evolved to stab its prey, and hold it in place while the predator’s powerful jaws went to work. Dr Nick Longrich, the lead author of the new study published in the journal Cretaceous Research, noted in his personal blog that the ferocious interlocking teeth and flattened skull of the marine predator put him in mind of a similarly terrifying anime/manga protagonist.
“It’s pretty freakish-looking; a cruel and nightmarish-looking animal,” said Dr Longrich a senior lecturer at The University of Bath's Department of Life Sciences. “Looking at the skull and teeth, I can’t help but think of the series Chainsaw Man. This mosasasur is positively demonic. I actually had an idea for a genus name that would allude to this otherworldly appearance.”
Longrich had initially sought to give the monstrous lizard the name Shaytania Pandaemonium, which he had derived from the Arabic word for devil, ‘shaytan’, owing in part to the creature’s “wicked smile”, and evil-looking face. Sadly, the other authors of the paper decided that the proposed moniker was just a little too hardcore for their taste. Instead, the team opted to name the ancient predator Khinjaria Acuta, in reference to the Arabic word for dagger, ‘khinjar’, and the Latin word for sharp, ‘acuta’.
According to the paleontologists, Khinjaria Acuta’s elongated skull shape, supporting musculature, and short, robust jaws would have given the predator a powerful bite that would have allowed it to take down large prey, including juvenile mosasaurs, and sharks. However, Dr Longrich notes in his blog that the monster’s tooth shape, which is similar to that of a modern-day mako shark, indicates that it would likely have subsisted primarily on large fish.
Khinjaria Acuta was also found to have relatively small eyes for a predator of its size, which suggests it had evolved to hunt relying chiefly on senses other than sight, by, for example, using its snake-like tongue to taste for the presence of prey in the surrounding waters.
Overall, the new find highlights a stark difference between the ancient oceans that existed at the end of the Late Cretaceous period, which played host to a diverse cast of giant predators, and modern-day aquatic environments, which are dominated by relatively few large apex carnivores.
“We have multiple species growing larger than a great white shark, and they’re top predators, but they all have different teeth, suggesting they’re hunting in different ways,” said Dr Longrich. “Some mosasaurs had teeth to pierce prey, others to cut, tear, or crush. Now we have Khinjaria, with a short face full of huge, dagger-shaped teeth. This is one of the most diverse marine faunas seen anywhere, at any time in history, and it existed just before the marine reptiles and the dinosaurs went extinct.”
The Khinjaria Acuta is but one of many terrifying carnivores that have ruled over Earth's oceans in the distant past. For more on these ancient mega-predators, why not check out our article on the hunting habits of the megalodon, or the recovery of a remarkably intact skull of a massive pliosaur that was recently excavated from a cliff on the Jurassic Coast of Southern England.
Image credit: Nick Longrich
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
