In Depth Although not known from very complete fossil material, one thing that can be established about this mosasaur is that the rear limbs are not as well developed to aquatic life as they are in later forms. This reveals that Vallecillosaurus was a basal (sometimes referred to as primitive) mosasaur form, although it was … Read more
In Depth Kaikaifilu is certainly an interesting genus of mosasaur. First it was one of the larger mosasaurs known to have been hunting in the waters of the Southern hemisphere. Also, the teeth of Kaikaifilu were heterodont, meaning that there were different forms of teeth within the mouth. This makes Kaikaifilu to be the only … Read more
In Depth At the time of writing Pluridens is only known from lower jaws, but these show that this mosasaur was a highly specialised hunter. The lower jaw of Pluridens had at least twenty-eight tightly packed teeth, more than in other known mosasaurs, and hence the inspiration for the name Pluridens which means ‘many teeth’. … Read more
In Depth Though first described from a partial maxilla, the mosasaur Xenodens seems to have had very specialised teeth. These teeth are individually short and flattened into stout blade-like form, but when in the jaw, are tightly packed together to form what can only be described as a saw blade-like structure. Indeed, the type species … Read more
In Depth Eidolosaurus is a genus of mosasaur that lived during the late Cretaceous. Further Reading - Eidolosaurus und Pachyophis, Zwei neue Neocom-Reptilien. - Palaeontographica (55)97-154. - F. Nopcsa - 1923.
In Depth Komensaurus was a basal mosasaur that was similar to other primitive forms such as Dallasaurus and Vallecillosaurus which are currently known from North America. Together these mosasaurs show that while they were primitive in form, the first mosasaurs were still capable of crossing wide expanses of ocean to spread out into new locations. … Read more