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175 / Mesozoic
Dakosaurus
Dakosaurus maximus
A short deep skull carried serrated blades, while this marine crocodile's body had transformed into four flippers and a fishlike tail.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- About 157–145 million years ago
- Final stage
- End of the Jurassic
- Geographic range
- European continental-shelf seas · Present-day Germany, France and Britain
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Dakosaurus?
This archive records Dakosaurus under the scientific name Dakosaurus maximus, with an age of About 157–145 million years ago and a range of European continental-shelf seas · Present-day Germany, France and Britain. A short deep skull carried serrated blades, while this marine crocodile's body had transformed into four flippers and a fishlike tail.
Dakosaurus was a fully marine metriorhynchid that lost heavy armor and could no longer walk on land. Powerful jaws and slicing teeth tore large fish and other marine reptiles.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Dakosaurus at a glance
- Scientific name
- Dakosaurus maximus
- Age
- About 157–145 million years ago
- Last recorded stage
- End of the Jurassic
- Known range
- European continental-shelf seas · Present-day Germany, France and Britain
- Broad group
- reptile
- Archive era
- Mesozoic
- Habitat signals
- Ocean
- Documented regions
- Europe
03 / ANATOMY
How was Dakosaurus built?
Overall body plan
A short deep skull carried serrated blades, while this marine crocodile's body had transformed into four flippers and a fishlike tail.
Skull and feeding apparatus
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Dakosaurus, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Axial skeleton and locomotion
Dakosaurus was a fully marine metriorhynchid that lost heavy armor and could no longer walk on land. Powerful jaws and slicing teeth tore large fish and other marine reptiles.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Dakosaurus.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Dakosaurus live?
Dakosaurus was a fully marine metriorhynchid that lost heavy armor and could no longer walk on land. Powerful jaws and slicing teeth tore large fish and other marine reptiles. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on temperature, nesting habitat, prey or vegetation, and connected landscapes. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Dakosaurus live?
This archive currently lists About 157–145 million years ago; European continental-shelf seas · Present-day Germany, France and Britain. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
European continental-shelf seas · Present-day Germany, France and Britain. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
About 157–145 million years ago, with the final recorded stage listed as End of the Jurassic. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels Ocean. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Dakosaurus?
Primary record
European skulls, teeth and skeletons reveal a streamlined trunk, flippers and downturned tail tip; tooth microwear records slicing forces.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Dakosaurus within About 157–145 million years ago and European continental-shelf seas · Present-day Germany, France and Britain. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Dakosaurus disappear?
Marine and sea-level turnover around the Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary reorganized top-predator communities and reduced older metriorhynchid branches.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Dakosaurus FAQ
What was Dakosaurus?
This archive records Dakosaurus under the scientific name Dakosaurus maximus, with an age of About 157–145 million years ago. A short deep skull carried serrated blades, while this marine crocodile's body had transformed into four flippers and a fishlike tail.
When did Dakosaurus live?
The current archive range is About 157–145 million years ago; its youngest recorded stage is End of the Jurassic.
Where was Dakosaurus found?
The archive currently lists European continental-shelf seas · Present-day Germany, France and Britain. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Dakosaurus?
European skulls, teeth and skeletons reveal a streamlined trunk, flippers and downturned tail tip; tooth microwear records slicing forces.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS