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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] |
Mosasaurus Conodon
''Mosasaurus'' (; "lizard of the Meuse River") is the type genus (defining example) of the mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic squamate reptiles. It lived from about 82 to 66 million years ago during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. The earliest fossils of ''Mosasaurus'' known to science were found as skulls in a chalk quarry near the Dutch city of Maastricht in the late 18th century, which were initially thought to have been the bones of crocodiles or whales. One skull discovered around 1780, and which was seized by France during the French Revolutionary Wars for its scientific value, was famously nicknamed the "great animal of Maastricht". In 1808, naturalist Georges Cuvier concluded that it belonged to a giant marine lizard with similarities to monitor lizards but otherwise unlike any known living animal. This concept was revolutionary at the time and helped support the then-developing ideas of extinction. Cuvier did not designate a scienti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaurus Hoffmannii
''Mosasaurus'' (; "lizard of the Meuse River") is the type genus (defining example) of the mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic squamate reptiles. It lived from about 82 to 66 million years ago during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. The earliest fossils of ''Mosasaurus'' known to science were found as skulls in a chalk quarry near the Dutch city of Maastricht in the late 18th century, which were initially thought to have been the bones of crocodiles or whales. One skull discovered around 1780, and which was seized by France during the French Revolutionary Wars for its scientific value, was famously nicknamed the "great animal of Maastricht". In 1808, naturalist Georges Cuvier concluded that it belonged to a giant marine lizard with similarities to monitor lizards but otherwise unlike any known living animal. This concept was revolutionary at the time and helped support the then-developing ideas of extinction. Cuvier did not designate a scientif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prognathodon
''Prognathodon'' 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 ''Clidastes''. ''Prognathodon'' has been recovered from deposits ranging in age from the Campanian to the Maastrichtian in the Middle East, Europe, New Zealand, and North America. ''Prognathodon'' means "forejaw tooth", which originates from the Latin ''pro''- ("earlier" or "prior"), Greek ''gnathos'' ("jaw") and ''odṓn'' ("tooth"). Twelve nominal species of ''Prognathodon'' are recognised, from North America, northern and western Africa, the Middle East, western Europe and New Zealand. Due to the sometimes clear differences between them and the incomplete nature of many of the specimens, the systematics of the genus and which species should properly be considered ''Prognathodon'' is controversial. Some species have been assigned to other genera, such as ''Dollosaurus'' and ''Brachysaurana'', but ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaurus
''Mosasaurus'' (; "lizard of the Meuse River") is the type genus (defining example) of the mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic squamate reptiles. It lived from about 82 to 66 million years ago during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous. The earliest fossils of ''Mosasaurus'' known to science were found as skulls in a chalk quarry near the Dutch city of Maastricht in the late 18th century, which were initially thought to have been the bones of crocodiles or whales. One skull discovered around 1780, and which was seized by France during the French Revolutionary Wars for its scientific value, was famously nicknamed the "great animal of Maastricht". In 1808, naturalist Georges Cuvier concluded that it belonged to a giant marine lizard with similarities to monitor lizards but otherwise unlike any known living animal. This concept was revolutionary at the time and helped support the then-developing ideas of extinction. Cuvier did not designate a scientifi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carinodens
''Carinodens'' is an extinct genus of Cretaceous marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. "''Carinodens''" means "keel teeth" and was named in 1969 as a replacement name for ''Compressidens'', "compressed teeth", which was already in use for a gadilidan Tusk shell, scaphopod mollusk. ''Carinodens'' is widely considered a sister taxon to ''Globidens'' classified within the tribe Globidensini. Like its close relative, ''Carinodens'' also possesses distinctive round, blunt teeth for crushing primitive clams and oysters. Most of the cranial elements known from the genus have been recovered from deposits in the Netherlands, with the only known postcranial material being known from deposits of latest Maastrichtian age in Jordan.Kaddumi H. F. 2009. The first and most complete ''Carinodens'' (Squamata: Mosasauridae) skeleton yet with a description of a new species from the Harrana Fauna. In: Fossils of the Harrana Fauna and the Adjacent Areas. Publications of the Eternal River Mus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Globidens
''Globidens'' ("Globe teeth") is an extinct genus of mosasaur lizard classified as part of the Globidensini tribe in the Mosasaurinae subfamily. ''Globidens alabamaensis'' was the first species of ''Globidens'' described, in a publication by Charles W. Gilmore (1912). It is used as the type specimen for ''Globidens''. ''Globidens'' belongs to the family Mosasauridae, which consists of several genera of predatory marine reptiles prevalent during the Late Cretaceous. Specimens of ''Globidens'' have been discovered in Syria, North America, Morocco, Angola, and Indonesia. Among mosasaurs, ''Globidens'' is probably most well known for its highly rounded, globe-like teeth. Description ''Globidens'' was a relatively medium sized mosasaur, measuring long and weighing . It was similar in appearance to other mosasaurs (streamlined body with flippers, a laterally flattened tail and powerful jaws). The teeth of ''Globidens'' differed from those of other mosasaurs in being globu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eremiasaurus
''Eremiasaurus'' is a genus of extinct genus of Cretaceous marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is classified as part of the Mosasaurini tribe (within the Mosasaurinae) and is exclusively known from the Maastrichtian phosphates of the Ouled Abdoun Basin in Morocco. ''Eremiasaurus'' means "desert lizard", referring to the arid climate of present-day Morocco where its fossils were recovered. One species is known, ''E. heterodontus'', whose specific name refers to high degree of heterodonty exhibited compared to other species of mosasaur. It was a medium-sized mosasaur, with the largest specimen measuring around in length. Description ''Eremaiasaurus'' is known from two specimens UALVP 51744 and OCP DEK/GE 112, both designated as syntype specimens due to the fact that UALVP 51744 lacks precise locality data. The syntype specimen UALVP 51744 belongs to an individual about long, consisting of a nearly complete skull, vertebral column and isolated pieces of the appen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moanasaurus
''Moanasaurus'' (From Māori ''moana'' "sea" and Greek ''sauros'' "lizard"; meaning "Sea Lizard") was a genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossil remains have been discovered in the North Island of New Zealand. ''Moanasaurus'' was a very large mosasaurine known originally from a disarticulated skull, vertebrae, ribs and flipper bones. The skull measures in length, which shows that ''Moanasaurus'' was one of the largest in the subfamily of Mosasaurinae. Researchers argue that some Antarctic '' Mosasaurus'' remains (including a "large, fragmentaery skull") may be attributed to this genus. Gregory S. Paul Gregory Scott Paul (born December 24, 1954) is an American freelance researcher, author and illustrator who works in paleontology, and more recently has examined sociology and theology. He is best known for his work and research on theropod dino ... estimated its maximum adult size at in length and in body mass. See also * List of dinosaurs and other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaurini
Mosasaurini is a extinct tribe of mosasaurine mosasaurs who lived during the Late Cretaceous and whose fossils have been found in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Oceania, with questionable occurrences in Asia. They are highly derived mosasaurs, containing genera like ''Plotosaurus'', having unique adaptations to fast swimming speeds, or ''Mosasaurus'', which is among the largest known marine reptiles. Description The Mosasaurini form a clade of derived mosasaurine. The tribe contains one of the largest known mosasaur species, ''Mosasaurus hoffmannii'', measuring over in length, but such a size is unusual within the tribe and even within the genus ''Mosasaurus'' in himself. Other large representatives are around long (like ''Plotosaurus'', ''Eremiasaurus'', ''Mosasaurus conodon'' and ''Mosasaurus beaugei'') while others are even smaller, in a range of around long (like ''Mosasaurus missouriensis''). Classification The tribe was erected by Russell in 196 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenodens
''Xenodens'' (from Greek and Latin for "strange tooth") is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It currently contains a single species, ''X. calminechari'' (From Arabic کالمنشار, meaning "like a saw"), which is known from Late Maastrichtian phosphate deposits in the Ouled Abdoun Basin, Morocco. Its closest known relative is believed to be the durophagous ''Carinodens''. Estimated to have measured around in length, both the genus and type species are named for the mosasaur's short and flattened blade-like teeth that collectively form a set of saw-like jaws. This is a feature that has never been seen in any other tetrapod but converge with the jaws of modern dogfish sharks and piranhas. Based on the feeding behavior of these animals, paleontologists believe that ''Xenodens'' used its highly specialized dentition for a broad diet on cephalopods, crustaceans, fish, and scavenged marine reptiles. External linksThis ancient sea reptile had a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Igdamanosaurus
''Igdamanosaurus'', meaning "lizard from Igdaman", is an extinct genus of Cretaceous marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is classified as part of the Globidensini tribe (within the Mosasaurinae), and is like the other members of the tribe recognised by its rounded and knob-like teeth. These teeth indicate a highly specialized lifestyle, likely including a durophagous diet. The genus contains a single species, ''Igdamanosaurus aegyptiacus'', from Maastrichtian-aged marine environments of Africa. Its fragmentary fossil remains have been recovered from the Duwi Formation of Egypt, Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco, and the Dukamaje Formation of Niger. Description ''Igdamanosaurus'' was a small durophagous mosasaur at a size roughly similar to the closely related globidensin ''Carinodens.'' Its fossils preserve blunt, rounded teeth similar to those of the other members of the Globidensini. These teeth were better suited for crushing armored prey like molluscs and turtl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harranasaurus
''Harranasaurus'' (meaning "Harrana lizard") is an extinct genus of globidensin mosasaur from Jordan and possibly also Morocco. The genus contains one known species, ''H. khuludae'' from the Muwaqqar Formation of Jordan and possibly also Sidi-Daui in Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to .... References {{Paleo-reptile-stub Mosasaurines Mosasaurs of Asia Fossil taxa described in 2009 Mosasaurids ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
