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Mosasaurinae
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] |
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] |
Plesiotylosaurus
''Plesiotylosaurus'', meaning "near ''Tylosaurus''", 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''. The genus contains one species, ''Plesiotylosaurus crassidens'', recovered from deposits of Middle Maastrichtian age in the Moreno Formation in California. Though it is classified as a mosasaurine mosasaur, and not closely related to ''Tylosaurus'', the name is not entirely misplaced as a number of cranial features found in the relatively intact holotype skull suggest some degree of convergent evolution with tylosaurine mosasaurs. Description ''Plesiotylosaurus'' was a relatively large mosasaur. The holotype, LACM 2759, consists of a poorly preserved and partially distorted yet almost complete skull and mandibles collected from the Panoche Hills in the Moreno Formation, California. The lower jaw of the holotype skull measures in length, wh ... [...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] |
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] |
Goronyosaurus
''Goronyosaurus'' is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. Fossils of ''Goronyosaurus'' are exclusively known from the Dukamaje Formation of Niger and Nigeria and also the Rima Formation of Nigeria, and are both Maastrichtian in age. The holotype was first described in 1930 as ''Mosasaurus nigeriensis'', but subsequent remains revealed a highly unique set of adaptations that prompted the species to be reclassified as the only species of the new genus ''Goronyosaurus'' in 1972. These unique adaptations have made ''Goronyosaurus'' notoriously difficult to classify within the Mosasauridae and it is often left out of phylogenetic analyses, although most authors agree that ''Goronyosaurus'' belonged to Mosasauridae. ''Goronyosaurus'' possesses unique teeth, which are unlike the teeth of any other mosasaur. Instead of the cutting teeth common among mosasaurs, ''Goronyosaurus'' has straight teeth with rounded apices adapted for smashing food. Discovery a ... [...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] |
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] |
Liodon
''Liodon'' is a dubious genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous, known from fragmentary fossils discovered in St James' Pit, England and possibly also the Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco. Though dubious and of uncertain phylogenetic affinities, ''Liodon'' was historically a highly important taxon in mosasaur systematics, being one of the genera on which the family Mosasauridae was based. History ''Liodon anceps'' was first described as "''Leiodon anceps''" by Richard Owen in 1841, based only on two tooth fragments and a minor portion of the corresponding jaw bone discovered in Essex, England.Benjamin CreislerMosasauridae Translation and Pronunciation Guide. Dinosauria.com. Retrieved 2008-04-07. The name ''Leiodon'' derived from the Greek ''leios'' ("smooth") and ''-odon'' ("tooth"), meaning "smooth tooth" on account of the "smooth and polished surface" of the fossil teeth. The specific name ''anceps'' means "two-edged", referencing the carinae (cutting edges) on both the front ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
