Megacephalosaurus

Name: Megacephalosaurus ‭(‬Big head lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Meg-ah-sef-ah-lo-sore-us.
Named By: B.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Schumacher,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Carpenter‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Everhart‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Plesiosauria,‭ ‬Pliosauridae,‭ ‬Brachaucheninae.
Species: M.‭ ‬eulerti‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Holotype skull about‭ ‬170‭ ‬centimetres long.
Known locations: USA,‭ ‬Kansas‭ ‬-‭ ‬Carlile Shale Formation,‭ ‬Greenhorn Limestone Formation.
Time period: Turonian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Skull and partial post cranial remains.




       The type specimen of Megacephalosaurus was originally assigned to the Brachauchenius genus,‭ ‬leading to the idea that Brachauchenius was one of the biggest of its time.‭ ‬The removal of this skull has led to a size revision of Brachauchenius,‭ ‬and the establishment of a new genus,‭ ‬Megacephalosaurus.‭ ‬However this still means that there were still some large pliosaurs in the oceans of the early portion of the late Cretaceous,‭ ‬our definition of names is just different.
       Megacephalosaurus was a very large pliosaur,‭ ‬and even though a complete skeleton is unknown,‭ ‬the one hundred and seventy centimetre skull of the holotype individual is proof of this.‭ ‬Megacephalosaurus was of a size that meant it could tackle other prey,‭ ‬perhaps even focused upon other marine reptiles.

Further reading
-‭ ‬A new Cretaceous pliosaurid‭ (‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Plesiosauria‭) ‬from the Carlile Shale‭ (‬Middle Turonian‭) ‬of Russell County,‭ ‬Kansas.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬33‭(‬3‭)‬:613-628.‭ ‬-‭ ‬B.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Schumacher,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Carpenter‭ & ‬M.‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Everhart‭ ‬-‭ ‬2013.
-‭ ‬Morphological and phylogenetic aspects of the dentition of Megacephalosaurus eulerti,‭ ‬a pliosaurid from the Turonian of Kansas,‭ ‬USA,‭ ‬with remarks on the cranial anatomy of the taxon.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geological Magazine.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Daniel Madzia,‭ ‬Sven Sachs and Johan Lindgren‭ ‬-‭ ‬2018.



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