''Komensaurus'' is a genus of basal
aigialosaurid mosasauroid
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 ...
from the
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 ...
period. It was found at
Komen
Komen (, it, Comen or ''Comeno'') is a settlement in Slovenia. It is the seat of the Municipality of Komen. It is located on the Karst Plateau in the Slovenian Littoral.
Name
Komen was attested in written sources in 1247 as ''Cominum'' (and ...
in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
in
limestone
Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...
dating from the
Cenomanian
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 s ...
. It was earlier referred to as the "
Trieste
Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...
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 ...
". In 2007, the
type species
In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...
''Komensaurus carrolli'' was named. Its
holotype
A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...
, specimen MCSNT 11430, was discovered in
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
and lived alongside the related ''
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. ...
''. It was a relatively small reptile, reaching in length and in body mass.
See also
*
List of mosasaurs
This list of mosasaurs is a comprehensive listing of all Genus, genera that have ever been included in the family Mosasauridae or the parent clade Mosasauroidea, excluding purely vernacular terms. The list includes all commonly accepted genera, bu ...
External links
Oceans of Kansas
Notes
Mosasaurids
Mosasaurs of Europe
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