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Plesiotylosaurus Crassidens MP
''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, whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maastrichtian
The Maastrichtian () is, in the ICS geologic timescale, the latest age (uppermost stage) of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or Upper Cretaceous Series, the Cretaceous Period or System, and of the Mesozoic Era or Erathem. It spanned the interval from . The Maastrichtian was preceded by the Campanian and succeeded by the Danian (part of the Paleogene and Paleocene). The Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event (formerly known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event) occurred at the end of this age. In this mass extinction, many commonly recognized groups such as non-avian dinosaurs, plesiosaurs and mosasaurs, as well as many other lesser-known groups, died out. The cause of the extinction is most commonly linked to an asteroid about wide colliding with Earth, ending the Cretaceous. Stratigraphic definitions Definition The Maastrichtian was introduced into scientific literature by Belgian geologist André Hubert Dumont in 1849, after studying rock strata of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clidastes Liodontus
''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, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prognathodon Overtoni
''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'', ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaurus Missouriensis
''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 Bennisoni
''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 whi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eremiasaurus Heterodontus
''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 appe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasaurini
Mosasaurini is a extinct Tribe (biology), tribe of Mosasaurinae, mosasaurine mosasaurs who lived during the Late Cretaceous and whose fossils have been found in North America, South America, Europe, Africa and Oceania, with questionable occurrences in Asia. They are highly derived mosasaurs, containing genera like ''Plotosaurus'', having unique adaptations to fast swimming speeds, or ''Mosasaurus'', which is among the largest known marine reptiles. Description The Mosasaurini form a clade of derived Mosasaurinae, mosasaurine. The Tribe (biology), tribe contains one of the largest known mosasaur species, ''Mosasaurus, Mosasaurus hoffmannii'', measuring over in length, but such a size is unusual within the tribe and even within the genus ''Mosasaurus'' in himself. Other large representatives are around long (like ''Plotosaurus'', ''Eremiasaurus'', ''Mosasaurus conodon'' and ''Mosasaurus beaugei'') while others are even smaller, in a range of around long (like ''Mosasaurus miss ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Globidens Dakotensis
''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 globular, g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Globidens Alabamaensis
''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 (biology), 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 flipper (anatomy), flippers, a laterally flattened tail and powerful jaws). The teeth of ''Globidens'' differed from those of other ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
