In Depth Dallasaurus was a fascinating discovery, especially for lovers of the marine reptiles that swam the Mesozoic oceans, more particularly the mosasaurs of the Cretaceous. The skeletal features of Dallasaurus have helped to further cement the theory that the mosasaurs evolved from terrestrial (land living) reptiles like monitor lizards during the early/mid Cretaceous. A … Read more
In Depth A kind of mosasaur known from North Africa, the species name of E. heterodontus means different-toothed and is in reference to the different kinds of teeth that are present in the jaws of known Eremiasaurus specimens. This is taken to indicate that Eremiasaurus may have been a generalist carnivore that was not especially … Read more
In Depth When Carinodens was first named it was as Compressidens, however it was later realised that this name had already been used to name a genus of mollusc. Because a name cannot be used more than once, a new name had to be chosen and so Carinodens came into being. Carinodens means ‘keel teeth’, … Read more
In Depth In 1937 a fossil collector named Allan Bennison discovered mosasaur fossils in California’s Mount Diablo Range. These fossils were first described by Charles Camp in 1942 and published as Kolposaurus; however this name is actually preoccupied as a synonym for Nothosaurus, hence the naming revision to Plotosaurus in 1951. The original fossils were … Read more
In Depth Mosasaurs appear to have been some of the most common marine reptiles around New Zealand towards the end of the Cretaceous, and at up to twelve meters long, Moanasaurus was towards the larger end of the mosasaur size scale. Given its large size it’s a safe bet that Moanasaurus would have been a … Read more
In Depth Plesiotylosaurus acquired its name for its similarity to another genus of mosasaur called Tylosaurus, one of the largest mosasaurs known. The jaws of Plesiotylosaurus are quite long and attached to a solid robust skull, something that suggests a prey preference for tougher animals. Possible candidates could include marine turtles which are known from … Read more
In Depth With an average size of up to four meters long Clidastes was tiny when compared to the larger mosasaurs such as Mosasaurus and Tylosaurus (the latter of which is actually considered to have been a potential predator of Clidastes). The small size of Clidastes suggests that it specialised in hunting smaller and swifter … Read more
In Depth Liodon was amongst the earliest named genera of mosasaur, with a taxonomic history going all the way back to 1841 when the naturalist Richard Owen first named the genus. However, back then Richard Owen spelt the name as Leiodon, but a few years later it was realised that the name Leiodon had already … Read more