Skåne archipelago in the Cretaceous sea

Belemnellocamax

Belemnites were squid-like cephalopods that were common during the Jurassic and the Cretaceous. They looked something like the 10-armed cephalopods of today. In the rear part of the body they had a structure called a rostrum which is often preserved in fossils. The rostrum helped the animal to swim straight by acting as a counterweight.

Shark teeth

During the Cretaceous the inland sea that covered the area which is now the Kristianstad Basin in Skåne was a paradise for sharks. It had more than 40 species of fish, including mako, horned, tiger and angel sharks, spiny dogfish and several other species.

The largest shark was Cretoxyrhina, a predator that could be up to six metres long which competed for large prey with marine reptiles.

Echinocorys

Echinocorys, a sea urchin with many small spines, lived partly buried in the ocean floor. It fed on microorganisms and other edible items that it plucked from the sand and mud as it ploughed forward on its many small, tubular feet.

Acutostrea

This mussel lived in a mangrove-like environment at the mouths of rivers which emptied into the warm subtropical ocean that covered what is currently northeast Skåne during the Cretaceous. It sat firmly on a branch or aerial root of a mangrove-like plant. The shell grew around the branch or root, preserving an imprint of the host plant.

Diplodetus

Sea urchins of the genus Diplodetus lived completely buried in sand on the ocean floor. There, they dug tunnels to hunt for tiny organisms and plant debris.

Terebratula

This lampshell had a short, thick foot which stuck out through a hole in the longer of its two shells. The foot, which supported the entire animal, was attached to rock faces or other hard surfaces. That made it possible for the lampshell to compete for its living space with other animals while it filtered its food from the ocean water.

Magas

Magas had a short, broad foot. Clusters of them attached themselves to other shells a short distance from land. The shells were often a bit lopsided, which may indicate that living space was crowded. Inside the shell was a long arm with many small tentacles that filtered particles of food from the ocean water.

Rastellum

Rastellum diluvianum was a large oyster that lived in warm ocean waters in much of the Cretaceous world. It lived at some distance offshore from rocky shorelines, and great numbers of individuals built up large banks. The shells with their sawtooth edges closed so tightly that it was difficult for predators to pry them open.

Rastellum

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Scanisaurus

These vertebrae are typical of plesiosaurs. If you compare their size with those of the Thalassomedon skeleton in front of you, it can be easily seen that Scanisaurus was much smaller.

Scanisaurus means "Skåne lizard" and it lived during the Early Cretaceous in an inland sea covering an area which today is the Kristianstad Basin. It probably fed on fish, for which it competed with sharks.

Trisalenia

Trisalenia was a sea urchin that lived near coastlines. It crawled over the ocean floor on small tubular feet, eating algae that it scraped from rocks and shells.

It had long, hard spines for protection against predators. But since sea urchin spines are somewhat loosely attached to the shell, they usually fall off after death.

Trisalenia

Trisalenia was a sea urchin that lived near coastlines. It crawled over the ocean floor on small tubular feet, eating algae that it scraped from rocks and shells.

It had long, hard spines for protection against predators. But since sea urchin spines are somewhat loosely attached to the shell, they usually fall off after death.

Cyranoia

This lampshell had a foot with many outgrowths which anchored the shell on sandy ocean bottoms. The edges of the shell were folded, which was advantageous for filtering food from the water: The flow of incoming new water and food was kept separate from the outgoing flow of already filtered water.

Hyotissa

This oyster attached its shell to hard surfaces with a sort of cement. The shell followed the contours of the surface, and its shape could vary accordingly.

Hyotissa oysters grew on rocks and other hard surfaces along the rocky shorelines of islands and headlands in the Cretaceous sea.

Hyotissa

This oyster attached its shell to hard surfaces with a sort of cement. The shell followed the contours of the surface, and its shape could vary accordingly.

Hyotissa oysters grew on rocks and other hard surfaces along the rocky shorelines of islands and headlands in the Cretaceous sea.

Tylosaurus ivoensis

• Tylosaurus was one of the largest mosasaurs. The pointed, powerful and enamel-coated teeth indicate that it specialized in hunting large prey such as plesiosaurs, cephalopods and big fish.
• It lived in the inland seas that covered parts of what are now Europe and North America. Tylosaurus ivoensis got its name from the place where the teeth were discovered, Ivö Klack near Kristianstad in the Skåne region of southern Sweden.