[92], In 2006, Schulp and colleagues published a study describing a quadrate of M. hoffmannii with multiple unnatural openings and an estimated 0.5 liters (0.13U.S.gal) of tissue destroyed. [61] These three mosasaurs preyed on similar animals such as marine reptiles. The study also held four additional species from Pacific depositsM. Mosasaurus faced competition with other large predatory mosasaurs such as Prognathodon and Tylosauruswhich were known to feed on similar preythough they were able to coexist in the same ecosystems through niche partitioning. Laelaps . Mosasaur Bites and Limpet Scrapes. Comparisons between the 13C levels in multiple teeth of M. hoffmannii and P. saturator from the Maastrichtian-age Maastricht Formation showed that while there was some convergence between certain specimens, the average 13C values between the two species were on average different. [96], It is likely that Mosasaurus was viviparous (giving live birth) like most modern mammals today. First, M. lemonnieri fossils are endemic to Belgium and the Netherlands, which despite the famous discovery of the M. hoffmannii holotype attracted little attention from mosasaur paleontologists. [93], There are some M. hoffmannii jaws with evidence of infectious diseases as a result of physical injuries. One skull discovered around 1780, which was seized by France during the French Revolutionary Wars for its scientific value, was famously nicknamed the "great animal of Maastricht". [124] The fish assemblage of the Lpez de Bertodano Formation was dominated by Enchodus and ichthyodectiformes. [11] The disparity is also reflected in the dentary, the lower jawbone,[36] although all species share a long and straight dentary. [9], Interactive skeletal reconstruction of M. hoffmannii [12] This specimen, cataloged as TM 7424, is now on display at the Teylers Museum in Haarlem. ", "A new halisaurine mosasaur (Squamata: Halisaurinae) from Japan: the first record in the western Pacific realm and the first documented insights into binocular vision in mosasaurs", "Mosasaur Predation on Upper Cretaceous Nautiloids and Ammonites from the United States Pacific Coast", 10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019<0096:MPOUCN>2.0.CO;2, "Mosasaur ascending: the phytogeny of bends", "Juvenile marine reptiles from the Late Cretaceous of the Antarctic peninsula and their relationships to other such occurrences in central South Dakota and Belgium", "Occurrence of Mosasaurus hoffmannii Mantell, 1829 (Squamata, Mosasauridae) in the Maastrichtian Phosphates of Morocco", "A cool temperate climate on the Antarctic Peninsula through the latest Cretaceous to early Paleogene", "Ray-finned fishes (Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii) from the type Maastrichtian, the Netherlands and Belgium", "A new species of longirostrine plioplatecarpine mosasaur (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco, with a re-evaluation of the problematic taxon, 10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0091:sdahso]2.0.co;2, "An Overview of Late Cretaceous Vertebrates from Alabama", "A New Hypothesis of the Phylogenetic Relationships of the Tylosaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauroidea)", 10.1671/0272-4634(2003)23[89:tpanes]2.0.co;2, 10.1666/0022-3360(2005)079[0969:anpprs]2.0.co;2, "Vertebrate Paleontology of the Pierre Shale and Fox Hills Formations (Late Campanian-Late Maastrichtian) of Badlands National Park, South Dakota", "Extinction patterns, 18 O trends, and magnetostratigraphy from a southern high-latitude CretaceousPaleogene section: Links with Deccan volcanism", "A new elasmosaurid from the upper Maastrichtian Lpez de Bertodano Formation: new data on weddellonectian diversity", "Before and after the K/Pg extinction in West Antarctica: New marine fish records from Marambio (Seymour) Island", 10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0473:mrsmft]2.0.co;2, "GEOL 104 Lecture 38: The Cretaceous-Tertiary Extinction III: Not With a Bang, But a Whimper", "Global climate change driven by soot at the K-Pg boundary as the cause of the mass extinction", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mosasaurus&oldid=1148298057, This page was last edited on 5 April 2023, at 08:57. The region was shallow for a seaway, reaching a maximum depth of about 800900 meters (2,6003,000ft). The cause of the infection remains unknown, but if it were a result of an intraspecific attack then it is possible one of the openings on the quadrate may have been the point of entry for an attacker's tooth from which the infection entered. At the time, it was not believed that a species could go extinct, and fossils of animals were often interpreted as some form of an extant species. Megalodon was 63 feet. Fossil vertebrae from the layer were found with fractures formed after death. [7], Conrad uniquely used only M. hoffmannii and M. lemonnieri in his 2008 phylogenetic analysis, which recovered M. hoffmannii as basal to a multitude of descendant clades containing (in order of most to least basal) Globidens, M. lemonnieri, Goronyosaurus, and Plotosaurus. maximus, M. missouriensis, and M. conodon; by doing so, others like M. lemonnieri, which is one of the most completely known species in the genus, were neglected, which affected phylogenetic results. [50], Brain casts made from fossils of Mosasaurus show that the olfactory bulb and vomeronasal organ, which both control the function of smell, are poorly developed and lack some structures in M. hoffmannii; this indicates the species had a poor sense of smell. For example, the braincase of the mosasaur Plioplatecarpus marshi provided for a brain around twice the size of that in M. hoffmannii despite being only half the length of the latter. [16] The skull became part of Cuvier's first speculations about the conception of extinction, which later led to his theory of catastrophism, a precursor to the theory of evolution. [88], Carbon isotope studies on fossils of multiple M. hoffmannii individuals have found extremely low values of 13C, the lowest in all mosasaurs for the largest individuals. The study found a dietary divide between M. missouriensis and Prognathodon overtoni based on stomach contents. These localities include the Midwest and East Coast of the United States, Canada, Europe, Turkey, Russia, the Levant, the African coastline from Morocco[101] to South Africa, Brazil, Argentina, and Antarctica. Together with the formation of a nutrient-rich deepwater mass from the mixing of continental freshwater, Arctic waters from the north, and warmer saline Tethyan waters from the south, this created a warm and productive seaway that supported a rich diversity of marine life. The dentaries ahead of the fractures in both specimens are in good condition, suggesting that the arteries and trigeminal nerves had not been damaged; if they were, those areas would have necrotized due to lack of blood. [38] In a 2000 study, Lingham-Soliar refuted this based on a comprehensive study of existing M. lemonnieri specimens,[36] which was corroborated by a study on the M. conodon skull by Takehito Ikejiri and Spencer G. Lucas in 2014. [50][61] Fauna likely preyed upon by the genus include bony fish, sharks, cephalopods, birds, and marine reptiles such as other mosasaurs[61] and turtles. These localities are all shallow ocean deposits, suggesting that juvenile Mosasaurus may still have lived in shallow waters.[100]. [29] The rest of the skull had been discovered earlier by a fur-trapper, and it eventually came under the possession of prince Maximilian of Weid-Neuwied between 1832 and 1834. M. hoffmannii's low 13C levels reinforces its likely position as an apex predator. "[14] In a 1822 work by James Parkinson, William Daniel Conybeare coined the genus Mosasaurus from the Latin Mosa "Meuse" and the Ancient Greek (saros, "lizard"), all literally meaning "lizard of the Meuse", in reference to the river where the holotype specimen was discovered nearby. [7][36] Despite being the best anatomically represented species, M. lemonnieri was largely ignored in scientific literature. The genus adapted by accessing new habitats in more open waters. [50] Chemical and structural data in the fossils of M. lemonnieri and M. conodon suggests they may have also hunted in deeper waters. This enabled these monster sharks to munch . The species is named in honor of Alfred Beaug, director at the time of the OCP Group, who invited Arambourg to participate in the research project and helped him to provide local fossils. Mosasaurus means 'Meuse lizard', referring to the river near which it was first found. The bladed dentition of this 400-million-year-old extinct fish focused the bite force into a small area, the fang tip, at an. [13][20] In 1829, Gideon Mantell added the specific epithet hoffmannii, in honor to Hoffmann. [40], The fifth species M. beaugei was described by Camille Arambourg in 1952 from isolated teeth originating from phosphate deposits in the Oulad Abdoun Basin and the Ganntour Basin in Morocco. Because soft tissue like muscles do not easily fossilize, reconstruction of the musculature was largely based on the structure of the skull, muscle scarring on the skull, and the musculature in extant monitor lizards. [51] In 2014, Federico Fanti and colleagues alternatively argued that the total length of M. hoffmannii was more likely closer to seven times the length of the skull, which was based on a near-complete skeleton of the related species Prognathodon overtoni. The Mediterranean Tethys during the Maastrichtian stage was located in what is now Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Mosasaurus fossils have been found less than 15 meters (49ft) below the boundary in the Maastricht Formation, the Davutlar Formation in Turkey, the Jagel Formation in Argentina, Stevns Klint in Denmark, Seymour Island, and Missouri. This study was conducted on only one tooth and may not represent the exact durations of, The number of caudal vertebrae is not fully certain for, Street & Caldwell (2017) revised this assessment of. [14][18], After its seizure, the second skull was sent to the National Museum of Natural History, France in 1795 and later cataloged as MNHN AC 9648. [131], M. hoffmannii fossils have been found within the K-Pg boundary itself in southeastern Missouri between the Paleocene Clayton Formation and Cretaceous Owl Creek Formation. [85] M. sp. [5], The palate, which consists of the pterygoid bones, palatine bone, and nearby processes of other bones, is tightly packed to provide greater cranial stability. In M. lemonnieri, these olfactory organs, although still small, are better developed and have some components lacking in M. hoffmannii. hoffmannii. Various partial skeletons of M. conodon, M. hoffmannii, and M. missouriensis suggest M. conodon likely had up to thirty-six dorsal vertebrae and nine pygal vertebrae; M. hoffmannii had likely up to thirty-two dorsal vertebrae and ten pygal vertebrae;[i][11][36] and M. missouriensis around thirty-three dorsal vertebrae, eleven pygal vertebrae, and at least seventy-nine caudal vertebrae.
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