Mosasaurinae

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Mosasaurines
Temporal range:
Ma
Mounted skeleton of
Mosasaurus conodon
, Minnesota Science Museum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Mosasauria
Superfamily: Mosasauroidea
Family: Mosasauridae
Subfamily: Mosasaurinae
Gervais, 1853
Type species
Mosasaurus hoffmannii
, 1829
Genera

The Mosasaurinae are a subfamily of mosasaurs, a diverse group of Late Cretaceous marine squamates. Members of the subfamily are informally and collectively known as "mosasaurines" and their fossils have been recovered from every continent except for South America.[4]

The lineage first appears in the

ammonites and/or marine turtles
.

Though represented by relatively small forms throughout the Turonian and Santonian, such as Clidastes, the lineage diversified during the Campanian and had by the Maastrichtian grown into the most diverse and species-rich mosasaur subfamily.[5]

The etymology of the group derives from the genus Mosasaurus (Latin Mosa = "Meuse river" + Greek sauros = "lizard").

Description

phylogeny of the Mosasauroidea, Bell (pp. 293–332) retained the Mosasaurinae as a clade, though he reassigned Russell's tribe Prognathodontini to the Mosasaurinae and recognized a new tribe of mosasaurines, the Globidensini.[7][8]

The subfamily is generally recognised as containing two subdivisions, the tribes

Prognathodontini (Prognathodon and its closest relatives, such as Plesiotylosaurus), is also used on occasion.[6] "Clidastini" or the adjective "clidastine" is also used sometimes, but generally refers to an adaptive grade close to and containing the genus Clidastes, rather than an actual clade.[9]

Relationships

Cladogram of the Mosasaurinae modified from Longrich et al., 2022:[10]

Mosasaurinae

Kourisodon

Clidastes

Globidensini

Globidens simplex

Globidens schumani

Globidens phosphaticus

Prognathodon rapax (=Ancylocentrum hungerfordi)

Globidens alambamensis

Globidens dakotensis

Prognathodontini

Gnathomortis

Prognathodon overtoni

Prognathodon saturator

Prognathodon giganteus

Prognathodon lutugini

Prognathodon solvayi

Mosasaurini

Mosasaurus missouriensis

Mosasaurus lemonnieri

Mosasaurus hoffmannii

Mosasaurus beaugei

Mosasaurus maximus

Liodon

Mosasaurus sp. (MGGC 21876)

"Magahouanga mosasaurine"

References

  1. , retrieved 2022-07-13
  2. .
  3. .
  4. ^ "Fossilworks: Mosasaurinae". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 17 December 2021.
  5. .
  6. ^ a b Russell, Dale. A. (6 November 1967). "Systematics and Morphology of American Mosasaurs" (PDF). Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History (Yale University).
  7. ^ Bell, G. L. Jr., 1997. A phylogenetic revision of North American and Adriatic Mosasauroidea. pp. 293–332 In Callaway J. M. and E. L Nicholls, (eds.), Ancient Marine Reptiles, Academic Press, 501 pp.
  8. ^ Gervais, P. 1853. Observations relatives aux reptiles fossiles de France. Acad. Sci. Paris Compt. Rendus 36:374–377, 470–474.
  9. S2CID 86219057
    .
  10. .

Further reading