Bruce and Suzy are “adopting” a new, rather scary-looking, playmate.
The Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden will add a new, complete, third mosasaur skeleton to hang out with Bruce and Suzy.
People will notice right away that the third skeleton is different, thanks to its “ferocious, razor-like teeth,” said Peter Cantelon, the centre’s executive director.
“It’s a smaller mosasaur and it’s a special, more rare type of mosasaur,” Cantelon said. It’s called a Kourisodon puntledgensis or razor-toothed mosasaur of the Puntledge River.
“Their fossils have only been found in Canada and Japan.”
Mosasaurs were “top of the food chain” predators who lived in the sea.
Bruce the Mosasaur lived about 80 million years ago in an ocean that once split North America in two. Because of that, mosasaur skeletons have been found on the prairies.
Bruce was the centre’s first on-display mosasaur. The centre holds the Guiness World Record for having the most mosasaurs on display.
Bruce’s and Suzy’s teeth are more like a crocodile’s teeth, used to bite and hold, Cantelon said. However, the new skeleton’s teeth are narrower, have edges and are sharper, meaning they had a different diet than Bruce and Suzy did.
The new skeleton, which was discovered on Vancouver Island, does not have a name yet.
“We’re super excited to add it to the ‘tanks’ of mosasaurs that we’ve got right now. This is more of like a little Porche.”
The new mosasaur will be unveiled at 1 p.m. on July 25 at the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre in Morden, Man.
WATCH: Peter Cantelon from the Canadian Fossil Discovery Centre with three fossils
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