Eonatator

Name: Eonatator ‭(‬dawn swimmer‭)‬.
Phonetic: E-o-na-ta-tor.
Named By: N.‭ ‬Bardet,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Pereda Suberbiola,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Iarochene,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Bouya‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬Amaghaz‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005.
Synonyms: Clidastes sternbergi,‭ ‬Halisaurus sternbergi.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Squamata,‭ ‬Mosasauridae,‭ ‬Halisaurinae.
Species: E.‭ ‬sternbergii‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬E.‭ ‬coellensis.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Roughly from about‭ ‬2.6‭ ‬meters long for E.‭ ‬sternbergii,‭ ‬and about‭ ‬2.8‭ ‬meters long for E.‭ ‬coellensis.
Known locations: Colombia.‭ ‬Sweden‭ ‬-‭ ‬Kristianstad Basin.‭ ‬USA,‭ ‬Alabama‭ ‬-‭ ‬Eutaw Formation,‭ ‬Mooreville Chalk Formation,‭ ‬Kansas‭ ‬-‭ ‬Niobrara Chalk Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Several individuals.




       Fossils of Eonatator were originally assigned to the genus Clidastes and then later still to the genus Halisaurus.‭ ‬Eventually Eonatator was established as a distinct genus in‭ ‬2005‭ ‬and today is regarded as a halisaurine mosasaur.‭ ‬Eonatator was relatively small when compared to other mosasaurs,‭ ‬but the simple fact fossils for Eonatator range from Columbia,‭ ‬the United States of America all the way across the Atlantic to Sweden is a clear indicator that Eonatator was highly successful.‭ ‬Because of the small size,‭ ‬Eonatator was probably a specialist hunter of fish,‭ ‬though may have also attacked small marine reptiles.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new species of Halisaurus from the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco,‭ ‬and the phylogenetical relationships of the Halisaurinae‭ (‬Squamata:‭ ‬Mosasauridae‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society‭ ‬143:447-472.‭ ‬-‭ ‬N.‭ ‬Bardet,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Pereda Suberbiola,‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Iarochene,‭ ‬B.‭ ‬Bouya‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬Amaghaz‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005.
-‭ ‬Eonatator coellensis nov.‭ ‬sp.‭ (‬Squamata:‭ ‬Mosasauridae‭)‬,‭ ‬a new species from the Upper Cretaceous of Colombia.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Revista de la Academia Colombiana de Ciencias‭ ‬37‭(‬145‭)‬:499-518.‭ ‬-‭ ‬M.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬P�ramo-Fonseca‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.



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