|
Prognathodontini
The Mosasaurinae are a subfamily of mosasaurs, a diverse group of Late Cretaceous marine Squamata, 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 line ... [...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] |
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] |
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] |
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] |
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous Epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous Series. It spans the time between 93.9 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.8 ± 1 Ma (million years ago). The Turonian is preceded by the Cenomanian Stage and underlies the Coniacian Stage. At the beginning of the Turonian an oceanic anoxic event (OAE 2) took place, also referred to as the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event or the "Bonarelli Event". Stratigraphic definition The Turonian (French: ''Turonien'') was defined by the French paleontologist Alcide d'Orbigny (1802–1857) in 1842. Orbigny named it after the French city of Tours in the region of Touraine (department Indre-et-Loire), which is the original type locality. The base of the Turonian Stage is defined as the place where the ammonite species '' Watinoceras devonense'' first appears in the stratigraphic column. The official reference profile (the GSSP) for the base of the Turonian is located in the Roc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southern subregion of a single continent called America. South America is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east by the Atlantic Ocean; North America and the Caribbean Sea lie to the northwest. The continent generally includes twelve sovereign states: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, and Venezuela; two dependent territories: the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands; and one internal territory: French Guiana. In addition, the ABC islands of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Ascension Island (dependency of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a British Overseas Territory), Bouvet Island ( dependency of Norway), Pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squamata
Squamata (, Latin ''squamatus'', 'scaly, having scales') is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians (worm lizards), which are collectively known as squamates or scaled reptiles. With over 10,900 species, it is also the second-largest order of extant (living) vertebrates, after the perciform fish. Members of the order are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields, and must periodically engage in molting. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making possible movement of the upper jaw relative to the neurocranium. This is particularly visible in snakes, which are able to open their mouths very wide to accommodate comparatively large prey. Squamata is the most variably sized order of reptiles, ranging from the dwarf gecko (''Sphaerodactylus ariasae'') to the Reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus'') and the now-extinct mosasaurs, which reached lengths over . Among other reptiles, squamates are most close ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous
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 b ... [...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] |
Subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoological names with "-inae". See also * International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants * International Code of Zoological Nomenclature * Rank (botany) * Rank (zoology) In biological classification, taxonomic rank is the relative level of a group of organisms (a taxon) in an ancestral or hereditary hierarchy. A common system consists of species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, domain. While ... Sources {{biology-stub ... [...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] |
Plotosaurus
''Plotosaurus'' ("swimmer lizard") is an extinct genus of mosasaur from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Fresno County, California. Originally named '' Kolposaurus'' (meaning "bay lizard") by Berkeley paleontologist Charles Lewis Camp in 1942, it was changed to ''Plotosaurus'' in 1951 when Camp discovered the name had already been assigned to a type of nothosaur. Discovery and naming The earliest described specimens of ''Plotosaurus'' were discovered in the early 20th century from Moreno Formation deposits along the San Joaquin Valley, California. The first was a pair of caudal vertebrae collected during 1918 or 1920 by an Oakland resident named Herman G. Walker while exploring the Panoche Hills. They were donated to the University of California, Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology under the catalog UCMP 36050. In June 1936, a high school student from Gustine named Allan Bennison found three vertebrae next to a hadrosaur fossil in shale hills near Patterson, two of which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
