Plesiotylosaurus

Name: Plesiotylosaurus (‬Near Tylosaurus‭).
Phonetic: Ples-e-o-ty-loe-sore-us.
Named By: Charles Lewis Camp‭ ‬-‭ ‬1942.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Squamata,‭ ‬Mosasauridae,‭ ‬Mosasaurinae.
Species: P.‭ ‬crassidens‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: Holotype skull about‭ ‬90‭ ‬centimetres long, estimated total length roughly 6.5 meters long.
Known locations: USA‭ ‬-‭ ‬California‭ ‬-‭ ‬Moreno Formation.
Time period: Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Skull and jaw.




       Plesiotylosaurus‭ ‬acquired its name for its similarity to another genus of mosasaur called Tylosaurus,‭ ‬one of the largest mosasaurs known.‭ ‬The jaws of Plesiotylosaurus are quite long and attached to a solid robust skull,‭ ‬something that suggests a prey preference for tougher animals.‭ ‬Possible candidates could include‭ ‬marine turtles which are‭ ‬known from the same Formation that the Plesiotylosaurus holotype was found in.
       Plesiotylosaurus is also not the only marine reptile found in the Moreno Formation of California,‭ ‬with others including the mosasaur Plotosaurus‭ (‬also first described by Charles Lewis Camp in‭ ‬1942,‭ ‬but as Kolposaurus‭) ‬as well as the plesiosaurs Aphrosaurus,‭ ‬Fresnosaurus,‭ ‬Hydrotherosaurus and Morenosaurus.

Further reading
- Cranial Osteology of the Giant Mosasaur Plesiotylosaurus (Squamata, Mosasauridae). - Journal of Paleontology 3(3):448-456. - Johan Lindgren - 2009.




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