Basking dragon

The basking dragon (Cetophis magnus) is the second largest living mosasaurophioidean after the giant fisnake. It is also one of the 55 species of filter feeding sea dragons.

Etymology
Its generic name Cetophis derives from its whale-like feeding habits and its relation to snakes. Its specific name magnus refers to its large size compared to other magnasaurs.

Description
The basking dragon regularly reaches 6.7 to 9 meters (22 to 30 feet) in length with some individuals reaching 12 meters (39 feet). The average length of an adult basking dragon is around 7.6 meters (25 feet) and weighing around 4.58 tons. Reports suggest basking dragons able to reach 14.9 meters (49 feet) in length, including five specimens estimated at 12.8 meters (42 feet). A study looking at the growth and longevity of the basking dragon suggested that individuals that were larger than 11 meters (36 feet) are highly unlikely. They possess the lamniform shark body plan and have been mistaken for great white sharks. However great white sharks were not introduced to Chaoterra and were easily distinguished by the basking dragon's 2 meter (6.5 feet) wide jaw and well-developed gill rakers, smaller eyes, much larger overall size and smaller average girth. Basking dragons usually have greyish brown scales with light yellow spots covering nearly all of its body.

Behaviour
In the winter, basking dragons travel thousands of kilometers seeking the richest zooplankton patches, after full of its plankton meal, it will then move to deeper depths of a kilometer and hibernate. While traveling, they also shed their gill rakers in an ongoing process, rather than over one short period. While usually being solitary, basking dragons are known to travel in large shoals during the summer season where they mate, reportedly up to 100 individuals. These shoals form a formidable barrier against predators, to ensure being safe from predation. Speaking of predation, basking dragons have very few predators to worry about, large mosasaurophioideans might feed on them, though they are usually scavenged.

Diet
The basking dragons is a ram feeder, filtering zooplankton, very small fish, and invertebrates from the water with its gill rakers by swimming forwards with their mouths open. One basking dragon specimen has been observed to filter up to 500 short tons (450 t) of water per hour swimming at an observed speed of a meter per second (3.6 km/h; 2.2 mph).

Reproduction
Basking dragons, as with many mosasaurophioideans, are ovoviviparous: the developing embryos first rely on a yolk sac, with no placental connection. Their seemingly useless hook-like teeth may play a role before birth in helping them feed on the mother's unfertilized ova (a behaviour known as oophagy). In females, only the right ovary appears to function, and it is currently unknown why only one of the organs seems to function. Gestation spans over a year with an unknown number of young born fully developed.