Aigialosaur
Aigialosauridae (from Greek, ''aigialos'' = "seashore" and ''sauros''= lizard) is a family of Late Cretaceous semiaquatic pythonomorph lizards closely related to the mosasaurs. Regarded by some paleontologists as a distinct monophyletic group and by others as an adaptive grade within the basal mosasauroids, recent molecular and morphological data suggests that they are the oldest known members of the lineage leading to the mosasaurs. The family is recognized as containing two species, normally classified into two genera; '' Aigialosaurus'' and '' Opetiosaurus''. When used as an adaptive grade rather than as an actual monophyletic group, many other basal mosasauroids of uncertain affinities are occasionally referred to as "aigialosaurs", such as the genera ''Komensaurus'', ''Haasiasaurus'', ''Carsosaurus'' and ''Dallasaurus'' and even entire mosasaur clades, such as the Tethysaurinae. The term "plesiopedal mosasaurs" or "mosasaurs with a plesiopedal limb condition" is a more for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aigialosaurus
''Aigialosaurus'' is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous marine or semiaquatic lizard classified as part of the family Aigialosauridae within the Mosasauroidea. Exclusively found in deposits of Cenomanian age near Hvar, Croatia, the genus contains one valid species, ''A. dalmaticus''.Madzia, D., Cau, A. (2017)Inferring "weak spots" in phylogenetic trees: application to mosasauroid nomenclature PeerJ 5:e3782 According to recent molecular and morphological data, ''Aigialosaurus'' is the oldest known member of the lineage leading to large Cretaceous marine reptiles called mosasaurs, a group most closely related to snakes among living squamates.Grigoriev, D. V. (2013). "Redescription of ''Prognathodon lutugini'' (Squamata, Mosasauridae)." ''Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS'', 317(3): 246-261. It was a relatively small reptil with a complete specimen measuring long. Another primitive mosasauroid, ''Opetiosaurus ''Opetiosaurus'' is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Aigialosaurus Dalmaticus
''Aigialosaurus'' is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous marine or semiaquatic lizard classified as part of the family Aigialosauridae within the Mosasauroidea. Exclusively found in deposits of Cenomanian age near Hvar, Croatia, the genus contains one valid species, ''A. dalmaticus''.Madzia, D., Cau, A. (2017)Inferring "weak spots" in phylogenetic trees: application to mosasauroid nomenclature PeerJ 5:e3782 According to recent molecular and morphological data, ''Aigialosaurus'' is the oldest known member of the lineage leading to large Cretaceous marine reptiles called mosasaurs, a group most closely related to snakes among living squamates.Grigoriev, D. V. (2013). "Redescription of ''Prognathodon lutugini'' (Squamata, Mosasauridae)." ''Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS'', 317(3): 246-261. It was a relatively small reptil with a complete specimen measuring long. Another primitive mosasauroid, ''Opetiosaurus ''Opetiosaurus'' is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous ma ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Mosasaur
Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Greek ' meaning 'lizard') comprise a group of extinct, large marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764. They belong to the order Squamata, which includes lizards and snakes. Mosasaurs probably evolved from an extinct group of aquatic lizards known as aigialosaurs in the Earliest Late Cretaceous with 42 described genera. During the last 20 million years of the Cretaceous period (Turonian–Maastrichtian ages), with the extinction of the ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs, mosasaurs became the dominant marine predators. They themselves became extinct as a result of the K-Pg event at the end of the Cretaceous period, about 66 million years ago. Description Mosasaurs breathed air, were powerful swimmers, and were well-adapted to living in the warm, shallow inland seas prevalent during the Late Cretaceous period. Mosasaurs were so ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Opetiosaurus
''Opetiosaurus'' is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous marine or semiaquatic lizard classified as part of the family Aigialosauridae within the Mosasauroidea. Exclusively found in deposits of Cenomanian age near Hvar, Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ..., the genus contain one valid species, ''O. bucchichi''. It was a small reptile measuring long. The genus was diagnosed as congenetic with '' Aigialosaurus'' by Dutchak and Caldwell (2009),Dutchak, Alex R.; and Caldwell, Michael W. (2009"A redescription of ''Aigialosaurus'' (= ''Opetiosaurus'') ''bucchichi'' (Kornhuber, 1901) (Squamata: Aigialosauridae) with comments on mosasauroid systematics".''Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology'' 29 (2): 437-452. being re-diagnosed as "''Aigialosaurus bucchichi''" and on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Carsosaurus
''Carsosaurus'' is a genus of extinct amphibious reptiles, in the mosasaur superfamily, containing only the species ''Carsosaurus marchesetti''. It is known from a single individual that lived during the Upper Cretaceous in what is now Slovenia. The specimen is well-preserved, containing many different bones as well as some skin impressions and sternal cartilage. While more remains are needed to be certain, it is generally thought to belong to Aigialosauridae. In life, it was an amphibious creature that spent most of its time on land, although its later relatives would become fully aquatic. Discovery and naming ''Carsosaurus marchesetti'' was described from a single, mostly complete skeleton at the Civico Museo di Storia Naturale di Trieste, uncovered from the Karst Plateau near Komen (modern-day Slovenia) by Andreas Kornhuber in 1893. He compared it to ''Acteosaurus tommasinii'', as both were uncovered from the same area. There were numerous noticeable differences between the tw ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia although some lizards are more closely related to these two excluded groups than they are to other lizards. Lizards range in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the 3-meter-long Komodo dragon. Most lizards are quadrupedal, running with a strong side-to-side motion. Some lineages (known as "legless lizards"), have secondarily lost their legs, and have long snake-like bodies. Some such as the forest-dwelling ''Draco'' lizards are able to glide. They are often territorial, the males fighting off other males and signalling, often with bright colours, to attract mates and to intimidate rivals. Lizards are mainly carnivorous, often being sit-and-wait predators; many smaller species eat insects, while the Komodo eats mammals a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Dallasaurus
''Dallasaurus'' ("Dallas lizard") is a basal mosasauroid from the Upper Cretaceous of North America. Along with ''Russellosaurus'', ''Dallasaurus'' is one of the two oldest mosasauroid taxa currently known from North America. It is also the smallest known mosasaurine, measuring up to in length and in body mass. Specimens The genus is based upon two partial skeletons recovered from the Arcadia Park Shale (lower Middle Turonian), approximately 15 meters above its contact with the older Kamp Ranch Limestone in Dallas County in north-central Texas. The holotype specimen (TMM 43209-1, Texas Memorial Museum, University of Texas at Austin) consists of an incomplete and disarticulated skull, along with considerable portions of the postcranial skeleton, making up about 80 percent of the animal. The second referred specimen (DMNH 8121-8125, 8143-8149, and 8161-8180, Dallas Museum of Natural History) lacks any skull material and consists entirely of disarticulated postcranial remains. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Haasiasaurus
''Haasiasaurus'' is an extinct genus of early mosasaur, originally named "''Haasia''" by M. J. Polcyn ''et al.'', in honour of the palaeontologist Georg Haas (paleontologist), Georg Haas. (The original name was a junior homonym of ''Haasia'' Bollman, 1893, a genus of millipedes.) ''Haasiasaurus'' was the largest cenomanian mosasaur at . The genus contains the species ''Haasiasaurus gittelmani'', which was found in the Cenomanian 100 million years ago (Upper Cretaceous) rocks near Ein Yabrud, in the Palestinian territories, Palestinian West Bank, approximately north of Jerusalem. References Mosasaurids Extinct animals of Asia Mosasaurs of Asia Fossil taxa described in 2003 {{paleo-lizard-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cenomanian First Appearances
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the stratigraphic column deposited during the corresponding age. Both age and stage bear the same name. As a unit of geologic time measure, the Cenomanian Age spans the time between 100.5 and 93.9 million years ago (Mya). In the geologic timescale, it is preceded by the Albian and is followed by the Turonian. The Upper Cenomanian starts around at 95 Mya. The Cenomanian is coeval with the Woodbinian of the regional timescale of the Gulf of Mexico and the early part of the Eaglefordian of the regional timescale of the East Coast of the United States. At the end of the Cenomanian, an anoxic event took place, called the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event or the "Bonarelli event", that is associated with a minor extinction event for marine spec ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cretaceous Lizards
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin ''creta'', "chalk", which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation ''Kreide''. The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was ice free, and forests extended to the poles. During this time, new groups of mammals and birds appeared. During the Early Cretaceous, flowering plants appeared and began to rapidly diversify, becoming the dominant group of plants across the Earth by the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Zagreb , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = Croatian , languages_type = Writing system , languages = Latin , ethnic_groups = , ethnic_groups_year = 2021 , religion = , religion_year = 2021 , demonym = , government_type = Unitary parliamentary republic , leader_title1 = President , leader_name1 = Zoran Milanović , leader_title2 = Prime Minister , leader_name2 = Andrej Plenković , leader_title3 = Speaker of Parliament , leader_name3 = Gordan Jandroković , legislature = Sabor , sovereignty_type ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tethys Ocean
The Tethys Ocean ( el, Τηθύς ''Tēthús''), also called the Tethys Sea or the Neo-Tethys, was a prehistoric ocean that covered most of the Earth during much of the Mesozoic Era and early Cenozoic Era, located between the ancient continents of Gondwana and Laurasia, before the opening of the Indian and Atlantic oceans during the Cretaceous Period. It was preceded by the Paleo-Tethys Ocean, which lasted between the Cambrian and the Early Triassic, while the Neotethys formed during the Late Triassic and lasted until the early Eocene (about 50 million years ago) when it completely closed. A portion known as the Paratethys formed during the Late Jurassic, was isolated during the Oligocene (34 million years ago) and lasted up to the Pliocene (about 5 million years ago), when it largely dried out. Many major seas and lakes of Europe and Western Asia, including the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and the Aral Sea are thought to be remnants of the Paratethys. Ety ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |