Sea Monsters Unearthed

Modern cliffs of coastal Angola where Projecto Paleoangola paleontologists excavate fossils of life that once lived in Angola’s ancient seas. Just as tectonic forces helped create the Cretaceous marine environment in which mosasaurs thrived, they also shaped the arid coastal cliffs where paleontologists discover mosasaur fossils today. Starting 45,000 years ago, a geologic process called uplift caused Earth’s crust to bulge along Angola’s coast, lifting part of the seafloor out of the water—and along with it, the layers upon layers of fossil-filled rocks where Projecto PaleoAngola scientists work.

Photo: Projecto Paleoangola.