Carinodens

Name: Carinodens ‭(‬keel teeth‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ca-re-no-dens.
Named By: J.‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Thurmond‭ ‬-‭ ‬1969.
Synonyms: Compressidens fraasi.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Squamata,‭ ‬Mosasauridae,‭ ‬Mosasaurinae,‭ ‬Globidensini.
Species: C.‭ ‬fraasi‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬belgicus,‭ ‬C.‭ palistinicus.
Diet: Carnivore/Piscivore.
Size: About‭ ‬3.5‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Time period: Belgium.‭ ‬Morocco.‭ ‬Netherlands‭ ‬-‭ ‬Maastricht Formation.‭ ‬Russia.‭ ‬Ukraine.
Fossil representation: Skull and postcranial remains of numerous individuals.




       When Carinodens was first named it was as Compressidens,‭ ‬however it was later realised that this name had already been used to name a genus of mollusc.‭ ‬Because a name cannot be used more than once,‭ ‬a new name had to be chosen and so Carinodens came into being.‭ ‬Carinodens means‭ ‘‬keel teeth‭’‬,‭ ‬a reference to the shape of the teeth.
       Carinodens is considered to be a relative of other mosasaur genera such as Globidens,‭ ‬and the teeth of the type species certainly do bear a similarity.‭ ‬This indicates that Carinodens fraasi may have had a greater focus upon hunting rough shelled prey like ammonites.‭ ‬Other species of Carinodens have been noted as more gracile and with less specialised teeth,‭ ‬and perhaps hunted for faster less armoured prey such as fish and squid.
       Carinodens lived towards the end of the Cretaceous period,‭ ‬and although undoubtedly a hunter itself,‭ ‬these mosasaurs were comparatively small compared to the truly big mosasaurs such as Mosasaurus and Hainosaurus which swam in the same waters,‭ ‬and‭ ‬which themselves would have hunted other large marine reptiles about the size of Carinodens.




Further reading
-‭ ‬New name for the mosasaur Compressidens Dollo,‭ ‬1924.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Paleontology‭ ‬43‭(‬5‭)‬:1298.‭ ‬-‭ ‬J.‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Thurmond‭ ‬-‭ ‬1969.
-‭ ‬New material of the mosasaur Carinodens belgicus from the Upper Cretaceous of the Netherlands.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology‭ ‬24‭(‬3‭)‬:744-747.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Schulp,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Jagt‭ & ‬F.‭ ‬Fonken‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004.
-‭ ‬First record of the Late Cretaceous durophagous mosaasaur Carinodens belgicus‭ (‬Squamata,‭ ‬Mosasauridae‭) ‬from Volgogradskaya Oblast‭ (‬Russia‭) ‬and Crimea‭ (‬Ukraine‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Russian Journal of Herpetology‭ ‬213‭(‬3‭)‬:175-180.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Schulp,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬O.‭ ‬Averianov,‭ ‬A.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Yarkov,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Trikolidi‭ & ‬J.‭ ‬W.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Jagt‭ ‬-‭ ‬2006.
- The first and most complete Carinodens (Squamata: Mosasauridae) skeleton yet with a description of a new species from the Harrana Fauna. In: Fossils of the Harrana Fauna and the Adjacent Areas. - Publications of the Eternal River Museum of Natural History, Amman, pp 49-64. - H. F. Kaddumi - 2009.

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