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Angolasaurus
''Angolasaurus'' ("Angola lizard") is an extinct genus of mosasaur. Definite remains from this genus have been recovered from the Turonian and Coniacian of Angola, and possibly the Coniacian of the United States, the Turonian of Brazil, and the Maastrichtian of Niger. While at one point considered a species of ''Platecarpus'', recent phylogenetic analyses have placed it between the (then) plioplatecarpines '' Ectenosaurus'' and '' Selmasaurus'', maintaining a basal position within the plioplatecarpinae. Its wide geographic range make it the one of the only Turonian mosasaurs with a transatlantic range. Description ''Angolasaurus'' was a small mosasaur, with a total length of about 4 meters (13 feet). It shared much of a body plan with its relative ''Platecarpus'', but with a slightly longer skull relative to body length. Its skull housed 11 maxillary teeth, 4 premaxillary teeth, and 12 dentary teeth. The phylogenetic relationship of ''Angolasaurus'' indicates that individuals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Plioplatecarpinae
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 diver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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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 Histo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Selmasaurus
''Selmasaurus'' is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is classified as part of the Plioplatecarpinae subfamily alongside genera like ''Angolasaurus'' and ''Platecarpus''. Two species are known, ''S. russelli'' and ''S. johnsoni''; both are exclusively known from Santonian deposits in the United States. ''Selmasaurus'' is unique among the mosasaurs in that its skull is unusually akinetic, meaning that it is incapable of widening to swallow larger prey. Most mosasaurs have skulls which possess "coupled kinesis" (mesokinesis and streptostyly), that is, parts of the jaw can open widely to accommodate large prey. Description ''Selmasaurus'' was a small predatory mosasaur at approximately 3–5 meters in length. It possesses a relatively low number of teeth for a mosasaur, the lowest of any known species at the time of its discovery. Originally classified as a plioplatecarpine mosasaur, it differs from all other plioplatecarpine mosasaurs in severa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Angolatitan
''Angolatitan'' (meaning "Angolan giant") is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous. It is also the first non-avian dinosaur discovered in Angola. The genus contains a single species, ''Angolatitan adamastor'', known from a partial right forelimb. ''Angolatitan'' was a relict form of its time; it was a Late Cretaceous basal titanosauriform, when more derived titanosaurs were far more common. Discovery and naming After the Angolan Civil War ended in 2002, the PaleoAngola project planned the first Angolan palaeontological expeditions since the 1960s. The first of these expeditions started in 2005 to explore Angola's fossil rich upper Cretaceous rocks, leading to the discovery of ''Angolatitan''. The discovery was made by Octávio Mateus on May the 25 near Iembe in the province of Bengo, and excavations were conducted during May and August 2006. ''Angolatitan'' was described by Octávio Mateus and colleagues in 2011. The generic name means "Angol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Ectenosaurus
''Ectenosaurus'' is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is classified as part of the Plioplatecarpinae subfamily alongside genera like ''Angolasaurus'' and ''Platecarpus''. ''Ectenosaurus'' is known from the Santonian and Campanian of Kansas, Alabama, and Texas. The generic name means "Drawn-out lizard", from Greek ''ectenes'' ("drawn-out") and Greek ''sauros'' ("lizard") referencing the elongated muzzle. Description Based on the length of the preserved skull, about , ''Ectenosaurus'' would have reached in length and weighed . It was a rare genus of mosasaur with several unique characteristics that clearly separate it from other mosasaur genera. The most prominent of these features is its elongated jaws, elongated in a similar vein to other mosasaurs with elongated jaws, such as ''Plotosaurus'' and ''Pluridens''. Russell (1967) considered the form of the teeth, the shape of the frontal and the large suprastapedial process of the quadrate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Itombe Formation
The Itombe Formation is a geological formation of the Kwanza Basin in Angola dated to the Coniacian stage of the Late Cretaceous. The environment of deposition is shallow marine. Reptile fossils have been recovered from the Tadi beds locality within the formation, including the dinosaur ''Angolatitan'', the mosasaurs '' Angolasaurus'' and '' Mosasaurus iembeensis'' and the turtle ''Angolachelys''.The Itombe formation was formerly considered Turonian in age, but new data suggests to be Coniacian. See also * List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Angola * Geology of Angola * Santos Formation The Santos Formation ( pt, Formacão Santos) is a geological formation of the Santos Basin offshore of the Brazilian states of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Paraná and Santa Catarina. The predominantly conglomeratic sandstone formation with inter ... References {{reflist Further reading * M. T. Antunes. 1964. O Neocretacio e o Cenozoico do litoral de Angola. Junta de Investigc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Mosasaur
Mosasaurs (from Latin ''Mosa'' meaning the 'Meuse', and Ancient Greek, 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 Aigialosauridae, aigialosaurs in the Late Cretaceous, 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 Pliosauridae, pliosaurs, mosasaurs became the dominant marine predators. They themselves became extinct as a result of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, 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 livi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Tylosaurus
''Tylosaurus'' (from the ancient Greek (') 'protuberance, knob' + Greek (') 'lizard') is a genus of mosasaur, a large, predatory marine reptile closely related to modern monitor lizards and to snakes, from the Late Cretaceous. Description A distinguishing characteristic of ''Tylosaurus'' is the elongated conical rostrum that protrudes from its snout, from which the genus is named. Unlike typical mosasaurs, ''Tylosaurus'' did not have teeth up to the end of the snout nor on the bony protuberance that is the rostrum, and scientists believe that this feature was primarily used for combative purposes such as ramming. This is supported with a uniquely broad and somewhat rectangular internarial bar (the extension of the premaxilla on the top of the skull that held together the nasal and upper jaws) that provided high cranial stability and resistance to stress forces. In addition, the development of the elongated rostrum in infant ''Tylosaurus'' rules out the alternative explanatio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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Dukamaje Formation
The Dukamaje Formation is a geological formation in Niger whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, Africa)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 604-605. . A wealth of Mosasaur fossils have also been recovered from this formation, particularly from the area around Mt. Igdaman. Fossil content ;Other reptiles * '' Sokotosuchus ianwilsoni'' * '' Palaeophis sp.'' * '' Podocnemis sp.'' * '' Trematochampsa taqueti'' * '' Libycosuchus sp.'' ;Fishes * '' Asteracanthus aegyptiacus'' at |