Clidastes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids ClidastesTemporal range: Upper Cretaceous
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| Clidastes liodontus chasing a turtle | |
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Mosasaurinae
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Clidastes
Cope, 1868
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Clidastes was a type of ancient marine reptile called a mosasaur. It lived a long, long time ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period. That was about 99.6 to 65.5 million years ago! You could find Clidastes swimming in the waters of North America and Europe. It was a fast and agile swimmer, using its body to move through the water. Clidastes likely hunted for food like squids, fish, and other small sea creatures in shallow waters.
Meet Clidastes: An Ancient Sea Hunter
Clidastes was one of the smaller mosasaurs. The smallest mosasaur was actually Dallasaurus. Clidastes usually grew to be about 2 to 4 meters (6.5 to 13 feet) long. Some of the biggest ones could reach up to 6.2 meters (about 20 feet) in length.
This amazing creature had a very sleek and slender body. Its tail was special, with wider bones near the tip. This design helped Clidastes swim incredibly fast. It could chase down even the quickest prey in the ancient seas!
Images for kids
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A drawing of a Clidastes front limb from an old book by Samuel Wendell Williston (1925).
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A drawing of a Clidastes skull, also from a book by Samuel Wendell Williston (1925).
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A drawing showing three C. propython mosasaurs.
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A fossil copy of a Clidastes propython skeleton next to some ammonite models. You can see this at the North American Museum of Ancient Life.
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This fossil was once thought to be C. velox.
See also
In Spanish: Clidastes para niños
