Johan Lindgren
Senior lecturer
Cranial Osteology Of The Giant Mosasaur Plesiotylosaurus (Squamata, Mosasauridae)
Author
Summary, in English
Based on the type material and a new, virtually intact skull from the mid-Maastrichtian pail (probably Tierra Loma Shale) of the Moreno Formation, San Joaquin Valley, central California, the cranial osteology of the enigmatic mosasaurine Plesiotylosaurus crassidens (Squamata, Mosasauridae) is here described in detail. Plesiotylosaurus is characterized by a protruding rostrum on the snout and mandibles, a wide and virtually unconstricted internarial bar, large and robust pterygoid teeth, and quadrates with distally fused suprastapedial and infrastapedial processes. Distinctly obtruding predental prows, along with a number of elaborate cranial features, suggest a morphological convergence with tylosaurine mosasaurs.
Department/s
- Lithosphere and Biosphere Science
Publishing year
2009
Language
English
Pages
448-456
Publication/Series
Journal of Paleontology
Volume
83
Issue
3
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Paleontological Society
Topic
- Geology
Status
Published
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0022-3360