|
Khinjaria
''Khinjaria'' (meaning "dagger") is an extinct genus of plioplatecarpine mosasaurid from the Late Cretaceous Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco. The genus contains a single species, ''K. acuta'', known from a partial skull and vertebra. ''Khinjaria'' was likely an apex predator in its environment, as its large body size, blade-like teeth, and unusual skull morphology would have allowed it to attack large prey animals. Discovery and naming The ''Khinjaria'' holotype specimen, MHNM.KHG.521, was discovered in sediments of the Oulad Abdoun Basin (Lower Couche III, Sidi Chennane locality) in Khouribga Province, Morocco. The specimen consists of a partial skull (with a partial premaxilla, both maxillae, the prefrontals, the frontal and parietal, right postorbitofrontal, partial right squamosal, and a dentary) and an associated vertebra, possibly coming from the trunk region. In 2024, Longrich ''et al.'' described ''Khinjaria acuta'' as a new genus and species of plioplatecarpine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plioplatecarpine
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] |
Goronyosaurus
''Goronyosaurus'' is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. Fossils of ''Goronyosaurus'' are exclusively known from the Late Maastrichtian of the Iullemmeden Basin in West Africa, specifically the Dukamaje Formation of Niger and Nigeria and List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Niger, Farin Doutchi Formation of Niger. The type specimen 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, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouled Abdoun Basin
The Oulad Abdoun Basin (also known as the Ouled Abdoun Basin or Khouribga Basin) is a phosphate sedimentary basin located in Morocco, near the city of Khouribga. It is the largest in Morocco, comprising 44% of Morocco's phosphate reserves, and at least 26.8 billion tons of phosphate. It is also known as an important site for vertebrate fossils, with deposits ranging from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) to the Eocene epoch (Ypresian), a period of about 25 million years. Geography The Oulad Abdoun is located west of the Atlas Mountains, near the city of Khouribga. The Oulad Abdoun phosphate deposits encompass some , an area of . The Oulad Abdoun is the largest and northernmost of Morocco's major phosphate basins, which from northeast to southwest, include the Ganntour, Meskala, and Oued Eddahab (Laayoune-Baa) basins. Paleobiota The Oulad Abdoun Basin stretches from the late Cretaceous to the Eocene and contains abundant marine vertebrate fossils, including sharks, b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
2024 In Reptile Paleontology
This list of fossil reptiles described in 2024 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were binomial nomenclature, described during the year 2024, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2024. Squamates Squamate research * A study on the biogeography of squamates throughout their evolutionary history, providing evidence of a localized Pangaean origin (Africa, Australia, Eurasia and Sundaland, Sunda) of the squamate crown group in the Jurassic followed by strong regionalization to Eurasia for subsequent Jurassic lineages, is published by Wilenzik, Barger & Pyron (2024). * New lizard assemblage, including fossil material of a pleurodontan iguanian, a Teiioidea, teiioid and a possible Scincoidea, scincoid, is described from the Upper Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian) Allen Formation (Argentina) by Garberoglio ''et al.'' (2024). * Revision of the fossil material of Paleocene lizards from the Walbeck fissure fillin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. Phylogeneti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dentary
In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone is the skull's only movable, posable bone, sharing joints with the cranium's temporal bones. The mandible hosts the lower teeth (their depth delineated by the alveolar process). Many muscles attach to the bone, which also hosts nerves (some connecting to the teeth) and blood vessels. Amongst other functions, the jawbone is essential for chewing food. Owing to the Neolithic advent of agriculture (), human jaws evolved to be smaller. Although it is the strongest bone of the facial skeleton, the mandible tends to deform in old age; it is also subject to fracturing. Surgery allows for the removal of jawbone fragments (or its entirety) as well as regenerative methods. Additionally, the bone is of great forensic significance. Structure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertebral Column
The spinal column, also known as the vertebral column, spine or backbone, is the core part of the axial skeleton in vertebrates. The vertebral column is the defining and eponymous characteristic of the vertebrate. The spinal column is a segmented column of vertebrae that surrounds and protects the spinal cord. The vertebrae are separated by intervertebral discs in a series of cartilaginous joints. The dorsal portion of the spinal column houses the spinal canal, an elongated body cavity, cavity formed by the alignment of the vertebral neural arches that encloses and protects the spinal cord, with spinal nerves exiting via the intervertebral foramina to innervate each body segment. There are around 50,000 species of animals that have a vertebral column. The human spine is one of the most-studied examples, as the general structure of human vertebrae is fairly homology (biology), typical of that found in other mammals, reptiles, and birds. The shape of the vertebral body does, howev ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous Research
''Cretaceous Research'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Elsevier. The journal focuses on topics dealing with the Cretaceous period and the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Abstracting and indexing The journal is abstracted and indexed in Scopus and the Web of Science. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2020 impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a type of journal ranking. Journals with higher impact factor values are considered more prestigious or important within their field. The Impact Factor of a journa ... of 2.176. References External links * Elsevier academic journals Paleontology journals Academic journals established in 1980 English-language journals Bimonthly journals {{Cretaceous-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Description
A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have been previously described or related species. For a species to be considered valid, a species description must follow established guidelines and naming conventions dictated by relevant nomenclature codes. These include the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) for animals, the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN) for plants, and the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) for viruses. A species description often includes photographs or other illustrations of type material and information regarding where this material is deposited. The publication in which the species is described gives the new species a formal scientific name. Some 1.9 million ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Specific Name (zoology)
In zoological nomenclature, the specific name (also specific epithet, species epithet, or epitheton) is the second part (the second name) within the scientific name of a species (a binomen). The first part of the name of a species is the name of the genus or the generic name. The rules and regulations governing the giving of a new species name are explained in the article species description. For example, the scientific name for humans is ''Homo sapiens'', which is the species name, consisting of two names: ''Homo'' is the " generic name" (the name of the genus) and ''sapiens'' is the "specific name". Etymology Historically, ''specific name'' referred to the combination of what are now called the generic and specific names. Carl Linnaeus, who formalized binomial nomenclature, made explicit distinctions between specific, generic, and trivial names. The generic name was that of the genus, the first in the binomial, the trivial name was the second name in the binomial, and the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns language codes to 32 varieties of Arabic, including its standard form of Literary Arabic, known as Modern Standard Arabic, which is derived from Classical Arabic. This distinction exists primarily among Western linguists; Arabic speakers themselves generally do not distinguish between Modern Standard Arabic and Classical Arabic, but rather refer to both as ( "the eloquent Arabic") or simply ' (). Arabic is the List of languages by the number of countries in which they are recognized as an official language, third most widespread official language after English and French, one of six official languages of the United Nations, and the Sacred language, liturgical language of Islam. Arabic is widely taught in schools and universities around the wo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
