We found a match
Your institution may have rights to this item. Sign in to continue.
- Title
A new species ofHalisaurusfrom the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco, and the phylogenetical relationships of the Halisaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauridae).
- Authors
BARDET, NATHALIE; PEREDA SUBERBIOLA, XABIER; IAROCHENE, MOHAMED; BOUYA, BAADI; AMAGHZAZ, MBAREK
- Abstract
A new species of the basal mosasauridHalisaurusfrom the Late Cretaceous (Late Maastrichtian) of the Oulad Abdoun Phosphate Basin of Morocco is described on the basis of both cranial and postcranial remains.H. arambourgisp. nov.is characterized by unique features of the nares, frontal, parietal, girdle and limb bones. A phylogenetical analysis supports the monophyletic status ofHalisaurus;H. platyspondylus(Maastrichtian, New Jersey),H. ortliebi(Maastrichtian, Belgium) andH. arambourgiform an unresolved polytomy. This study does not support the attribution of‘ Halisaurus’ sternbergii(Santonian, Kansas) toHalisaurusnor to any known genus. A new genus,Eonatator, is proposed for the reception of this species,Eonatator sternbergiicomb. nov. The new taxon Halisaurinae (Halisaurus + Eonatator) is the sister-group of more advanced mosasaurids (Natantia). Halisaurines are defined by the shape of the lateral premaxilla–maxilla suture; an oblique contact plane between the parietal and the supratemporal; a preaxial ridge present on the distal two-thirds of the radius length; and tibia and fibula long and slender with slightly expanded extremities. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London,Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005,143, 447–472.
- Subjects
MOSASAURIDAE; CRETACEOUS paleoecology; PHYLOGENY; SQUAMATA; ZOOLOGY
- Publication
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2005, Vol 143, Issue 3, p447
- ISSN
0024-4082
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/j.1096-3642.2005.00152.x