Aquatic Lizards

James Great-great-granddad

James' family had been ichthyosaurs as far back as anyone could remember, his Nan even had an old photo of his great great granddad being an ichthyosaur. It had been solid dependable work, not as glamorous as being a long necked plesiosaur maybe, but if you were going be an enormous aquatic lizard then you could do worse than getting a position as an icthyosaur. It was a job for life.

But times changed, icthyosaurs were going an extinct, not that James' family understood.

Jane

"Jane up the street got a position as a kronosaurus at that new company in town, why can't you do something like that?"

"It's not the same thing mum, kronosaurs are better adapted to the lower oceanic oxygen content of the late cretaceous. I just don't have those sort of qualifications."

Every morning it was like this and James couldn't deal with it anymore, he knew what he had to do.

"A MOSASAUR?" Dad was apoplectic. "Jimmy this is a step too far! You know they closed your uncle's factory down because of competition from mosasaurs!"

"If it is a choice between being out of work or being a mosasaur I'm going to take my chances dad, the world has changed, and mosasaurs are better at catching bony fish and those new aquatic birds which are all the rage."

Dad stuck his head into his newspaper "it's just a fad, you'll see."

"Won't that mean you have to go onto the land? I don't like the though of that, all sorts of weirdos up there!"

"No mum, mosasaurs are fully aquatic. You're thinking of aigosaurs. Honestly you're so narrow minded!"

An Herring

The first few weeks as a mosasaur were fantastic, herring has just been invented and James' team had won the contract to eat them. He was making new friends at work, and saving up some money so that he could move out on his own. He knew from the way dad looked at him that he wasn't welcome anymore, no matter how much mum pretended otherwise.

Then a massive comet hit the gulf of mexico and he and everyone he knew died.