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Eutaw Formation
The Eutaw Formation is a geological formation in North America, within the U.S. states of Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. The strata date from the late Coniacian to the early Santonian stage of the Late Cretaceous. It consists of the upper Tombigbee Sand Member and an unnamed lower member. Dinosaur, mosasaur, and pterosaur remains have been recovered from the Eutaw Formation. Vertebrate paleofauna Mosasaurs Ornithodires Dinosaur feathers have been found in the Ingersoll Shale of Georgia, which is a subunit of the Eutaw Formation. Indeterminate hadrosaurid remains have been found in Mississippi. Ornithomimosaurs of medium-size and large-size have also been unearthed in Mississippi. See also *List of fossil sites This list of fossil sites is a worldwide list of localities known well for the presence of fossils. Some entries in this list are notable for a single, unique find, while others are notable for the large number of fossils found there. Many of t ... Ref ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geological Formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exposed in a geographical region (the stratigraphic column). It is the fundamental unit of lithostratigraphy, the study of strata or rock layers. A formation must be large enough that it can be mapped at the surface or traced in the subsurface. Formations are otherwise not defined by the thickness of their rock strata, which can vary widely. They are usually, but not universally, tabular in form. They may consist of a single lithology (rock type), or of alternating beds of two or more lithologies, or even a heterogeneous mixture of lithologies, so long as this distinguishes them from adjacent bodies of rock. The concept of a geologic formation goes back to the beginnings of modern scientific geology. The term was used by Abraham Gottlob Wer ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Late Cretaceous
The Late Cretaceous (100.5–66 Ma) is the younger of two epochs into which the Cretaceous Period is divided in the geologic time scale. Rock strata from this epoch form the Upper Cretaceous Series. The Cretaceous is named after ''creta'', the Latin word for the white limestone known as chalk. The chalk of northern France and the white cliffs of south-eastern England date from the Cretaceous Period. Climate During the Late Cretaceous, the climate was warmer than present, although throughout the period a cooling trend is evident. The tropics became restricted to equatorial regions and northern latitudes experienced markedly more seasonal climatic conditions. Geography Due to plate tectonics, the Americas were gradually moving westward, causing the Atlantic Ocean to expand. The Western Interior Seaway divided North America into eastern and western halves; Appalachia and Laramidia. India maintained a northward course towards Asia. In the Southern Hemisphere, Australia and Ant ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plioplatecarpine
Plioplatecarpinae is a subfamily of mosasaurs, a diverse group of Late Cretaceous marine squamates. Members of the subfamily are informally and collectively known as "plioplatecarpines" and have been recovered from all continents, though the occurrences in Australia remain questionable. The subfamily includes the genera ''Latoplatecarpus'', ''Platecarpus'', ''Plioplatecarpus'' and '' Plesioplatecarpus''. Plioplatecarpines were small to medium-sized mosasaurs that were comparatively fast and agile compared to mosasaurs of other subfamilies. The first plioplatecarpines appear in the Turonian and are among the oldest of mosasaurs, and the clade persists throughout the Maastrichtian, a period of approximately 24 million years. The subfamily was seemingly heavily affected during a poorly understood middle-Campanian mosasaur extinction event and its genera appear to have faced competition from mosasaurine mosasaurs during the Maastrichtian, leading to a decline in numbers and in divers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platecarpus
''Platecarpus'' ("flat wrist") is an extinct genus of aquatic lizards belonging to the mosasaur family, living around 84–81 million years ago during the middle Santonian to early Campanian, of the Late Cretaceous period. Fossils have been found in the United States and possible specimens in Belgium and Africa. A well-preserved specimen of ''Platecarpus'' shows that it fed on moderate-sized fish, and it has been hypothesized to have fed on squid, and ammonites as well. Like other mosasaurs, it was initially thought to have swum in an eel-like fashion, although another study suggests that it swam more like modern sharks. An exceptionally well-preserved specimen of ''P. tympaniticus'' known as LACM 128319 shows skin impressions, pigments around the nostrils, bronchial tubes, and the presence of a high-profile tail fluke, showing that it and other mosasaurs did not necessarily have an eel-like swimming method, but were more powerful, fast swimmers. It is held in the Natural History Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halisaurus
''Halisaurus'' is an extinct genus of marine reptile belonging to the mosasaur family. The holotype, consisting of an angular and a basicranium fragment discovered near Hornerstown, New Jersey, already revealed a relatively unique combination of features and prompted a new genus to be described. It was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1869 and means "ocean lizard". It was renamed by Marsh to ''Baptosaurus'' in 1870, since he believed the name to already be preoccupied by the fish ''Halosaurus''. According to modern rules, a difference of a letter is enough and the substitute name is unneeded, making "''Baptosaurus''" a junior synonym. Since its description, more complete remains have been uncovered from fossil deposits throughout the world with particularly complete remains found in Morocco and the United States. The genus remains a key taxon in mosasaur systematics due to its unique set of features and as the most complete representative of its subfamily, the Halisaurinae. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Halisaurine
The Halisaurinae are a subfamily of mosasaurs, a group of Late Cretaceous marine lizards. They were small to medium-sized, ranging from just under 3 meters in ''Eonatator sternbergi'' to as much as 8 or 9 meters in ''Pluridens serpentis''. They tended to have relatively slender jaws and small, numerous teeth, suggesting a diet of small fish and other prey. Although the skeleton is primitive compared to other Mosasauridae in many respects, halisaurines had the distinctive hypocercal tail of other mosasaurids suggesting good swimming ability, and they persisted alongside other mosasaurs until the end of the Cretaceous. The earliest known remains of halisaurines occur in rocks of Santonian age and the subfamily persists until the latest Maastrichtian. Halisaurines are known from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa, indicating a more or less global distribution in the Late Cretaceous. Four genera are currently recognized: ''Eonatator'', ''Halisaurus'', ''Phosphorosaurus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eonatator
''Eonatator'' is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is a close relative of ''Halisaurus'', and part of the same subfamily, the Halisaurinae. It is known from the Late Cretaceous of North America, Colombia and Sweden. Originally, this taxon was included within ''Halisaurus'', but was placed in its own genus, which also led to the subfamily Halisaurinae being created for the two genera. Discovery and naming ''Eonatator'' is known from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk Formation ( Late Coniacian to Early Campanian) of Kansas, from the Eutaw Formation (Santonian) and Mooreville Chalk Formation (Selma Group; Santonian-Lower Campanian) of Alabama (United States), from the Kristianstad Basin of southern Sweden (late early Campanian), and the unit Nivel de Lutitas y Arenas (Campanian) of the Olini Group in La Mesa, Colombia. The name ''Eonatator'' means "dawn swimmer" (Greek ''eos'' = dawn + Latin ''natator'' = swimmer). Originally ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platecarpus Tympaniticus
''Platecarpus'' ("flat wrist") is an extinct genus of aquatic lizards belonging to the mosasaur family, living around 84–81 million years ago during the middle Santonian to early Campanian, of the Late Cretaceous period. Fossils have been found in the United States and possible specimens in Belgium and Africa. A well-preserved specimen of ''Platecarpus'' shows that it fed on moderate-sized fish, and it has been hypothesized to have fed on squid, and ammonites as well. Like other mosasaurs, it was initially thought to have swum in an eel-like fashion, although another study suggests that it swam more like modern sharks. An exceptionally well-preserved specimen of ''P. tympaniticus'' known as LACM 128319 shows skin impressions, pigments around the nostrils, bronchial tubes, and the presence of a high-profile tail fluke, showing that it and other mosasaurs did not necessarily have an eel-like swimming method, but were more powerful, fast swimmers. It is held in the Natural History Mu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eonatator BW
''Eonatator'' is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is a close relative of ''Halisaurus'', and part of the same subfamily, the Halisaurinae. It is known from the Late Cretaceous of North America, Colombia and Sweden. Originally, this taxon was included within ''Halisaurus'', but was placed in its own genus, which also led to the subfamily Halisaurinae being created for the two genera. Discovery and naming ''Eonatator'' is known from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Chalk Formation ( Late Coniacian to Early Campanian) of Kansas, from the Eutaw Formation (Santonian) and Mooreville Chalk Formation (Selma Group; Santonian-Lower Campanian) of Alabama (United States), from the Kristianstad Basin of southern Sweden (late early Campanian), and the unit Nivel de Lutitas y Arenas (Campanian) of the Olini Group in La Mesa, Colombia. The name ''Eonatator'' means "dawn swimmer" (Greek ''eos'' = dawn + Latin ''natator'' = swimmer). Originally, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaurine
The Mosasaurinae are a subfamily of mosasaurs, a diverse group of Late Cretaceous marine squamates. Members of the subfamily are informally and collectively known as "mosasaurines" and their fossils have been recovered from every continent except for South America. The lineage first appears in the Turonian and thrived until the K-Pg mass extinction at the end of the Maastrichtian. They ranged in size from some of the smallest known mosasaurs (''Carinodens'', 3–3.5 meters), to medium-sized taxa (''Clidastes'', 6+ meters), to the largest of the mosasaurs (''Mosasaurus hoffmannii'') potentially reaching about 13 m in length. Many genera of mosasaurines were either piscivorous or generalists, preying on fish and other marine reptiles, but one lineage, the Globidensini, evolved specialized crushing teeth, adapting to a diet of ammonites and/or marine turtles. Though represented by relatively small forms throughout the Turonian and Santonian, such as ''Clidastes'', the lineage diver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clidastes
''Clidastes'' is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is classified as part of the Mosasaurinae subfamily, alongside genera like ''Mosasaurus'' and ''Prognathodon''. ''Clidastes'' is known from deposits ranging in age from the Coniacian to the early Campanian in the United States. ''Clidastes'' means "locked vertebrae", which originates from the Greek noun κλειδί, or kleid meaning key (akin to Latin ''claudere'' meaning to shut). This refers to how the vertebral processes allow the proximal heads of the vertebrae to interlock for stability and strength during swimming. It was one of the earliest hydropedalIn mosasaurs, the terms "hydropedal" and "plesiopedal" refers to varying limb conditions and varying degrees of adaptations for marine life. Plesiopedal mosasaurs, such as ''Dallasaurus'' or ''Tethysaurus'' were primitive and largely coastal, while later hydropedal mosasaurs were streamlined and well-adapted to marine life. mosasaurs, repr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaurs
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 we ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
