First record of the mosasaur Platecarpus Cope, 1869 from South America and its systematic implications

Bengtson, Peter

doi:10.4072/rbp.2005.1.01

Cited by 13 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…By 90 Ma (late Turonian), derived mosasaurids are known from the northern and southern hemispheres, notably Angola. Significantly, Angolasaurus is reported from Texas based on two partial skulls, and from the Sergipe Basin, Brazil, based on size, proportions, and pattern of striations of two teeth [Polcyn et al, 2007;Bengtson and Lindgren, 2005]. Both Angolasaurus and Tylosaurus from Iembe are relatively basal within their respective subfamilies.…”

Section: The Completion Of the Atlantic Ocean As A Marine Amniote Dismentioning

confidence: 99%

Cretaceous paleogeography, paleoclimatology, and amniote biogeography of the low and mid-latitude South Atlantic Ocean

Jacobs

Mateus

Polcyn

et al. 2009

Bulletin De La Société Géologique De France

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The Cretaceous tropical Atlantic Ocean was the setting for an initial tectonically controlled late Aptian shallow water (≤ 300 m) connection between the northern and southern portions of the Atlantic, followed by a deep-water connection by the Turonian. Ocean currents changed with deepening of the South Atlantic and progressive widening of the Equatorial Atlantic Gateway. Aptian evaporite deposition came to a halt. The Albian-Turonian interval includes a trend toward increasing sea level and was characterized by globally warm sea surface temperatures. Productive areas of coastal upwelling led to the deposition of organic-rich sediments varying in position along the African coast with time, culminating in the Benguela Upwelling that commenced in the Miocene. The drift of Africa in the Late Cretaceous indicates that throughout most of this period, the coastal area around the fossil locality of Iembe, north of Luanda, Angola, lay in arid latitudes (15o S to 30o S), which are generally characterized by sparse vegetation. This presumption is consistent with the utter lack of macroscopic terrestrial plant debris washed into near shore sedimentary environments and indicates that organic rich marine shales have a minimal terrestrial carbon component. The connection of the North and South Atlantic oceans severed a direct terrestrial dispersal route between South America and Africa, but opened a north-south dispersal route for marine amniotes. This seaway was used by late Turonian mosasaurs and sea turtles as evidenced by Angolasaurus and a new turtle taxon close to Sandownia, both found at Iembe and derived from northern clades. The presence of a sauropod in late Turonian sediments, also from Iembe, suggests that this animal was tolerant of warm, arid conditions as the desert elephants of Namibia are today. Further, it suggests that the waning terrestrial dispersal route between South America and Africa was situated in a region where high temperature, low rainfall, and sparse vegetation would be expected to restrict the movement of more mesic and ecologically sensitive species.

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Section: The Completion Of the Atlantic Ocean As A Marine Amniote Dismentioning

confidence: 99%

Cretaceous paleogeography, paleoclimatology, and amniote biogeography of the low and mid-latitude South Atlantic Ocean

Jacobs

Mateus

Polcyn

et al. 2009

Bulletin De La Société Géologique De France

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“…A putative record from Chile cited in Gayet et al (1992) was apparently never Zaher et al 2003) and Late Cretaceous mosasaur remains from the Pernambuco-Paraíba Basin (records of Globidens, Mosasaurus, and Plioplatecarpinae; Price 1953, 1957, Carvalho and Azevedo 1998, the Sergipe Basin (records of Plioplatecarpus and Platecarpus; Bengtson and Lindgren 2005), the São Luís Basin (Vilas Bôas and Carvalho 2001), and a doubtful record from the Acre Basin (see Bengtson and Lindgren 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 94%

A new squamate lizard from the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group), São Paulo State, Brazil

Nava¹,

Martinelli²

2011

An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.

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The record of non-mosasaur squamates (Reptilia, Squamata) is sparse in the Cretaceus fossil record of Brazil and include six putative reports, three from the Aptian-Albian of the Araripe Basin (Tijubina pontei Bonfim-Júnior and Marques, Olindalacerta brasiliensis Evans and Yabumoto, and a lizard indet.) and three from the Upper Cretaceous of the Bauru Group (Pristiguana brasiliensis Estes and Price, Anilioidae gen. et sp. indet., and Squamata gen. et sp. indet.). In this contribution, a new genus and species of lizard, Brasiliguana prudentis gen. et sp. nov., is described based on an isolated left maxilla with teeth. The material was discovered in an outcrop of the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group) located in the proximity of Presidente Prudente Municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil. The new taxon is considered a basal non-Priscagamidae+Acrodonta iguanian based on the presence of a weakly inclined anterior margin of the maxillary nasal process and maxillary tooth shape and tooth implantation similar to that of iguanians rather than of other lizard groups (e.g. teiids). This finding significantly increases the squamate lizard diversity of South America, which is still poorly understood and sparsely represented in the fossil record.

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“…Remarks -Isolated tooth crowns of plioplatecarpine mosasaurs can be distinguished from those of mosasaurines, tylosaurines and Halisaurus on the basis of the following character state combination: (1) fine hairline striations are present on, at least, the basal portion of the lingual face of the crowns; (2) the labial and lingual surfaces are facetted, giving the crowns a more or less prismatic appearance; (3) the carinae are prominent but rather blunt and lack serrations; (4) the crowns are more or less abruptly curved distally from about mid-height; (5) in basal view, the crowns are elliptical to subcircular; (6) the labial and lingual surfaces on at least lateral and distal teeth are of subequal convexity; and (7) the crowns are generally rather slender and slightly pointed in lateral aspect (Bengtson & Lindgren, 2005).…”

Section: Subfamily Plioplatecarpinae Genus Plioplatecarpus Dollo 1882mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6). Furthermore, these genera are also temporally separated, as Platecarpus has been recorded from deposits spanning the middle and/or upper Turonian-lower Campanian interval (Bengtson & Lindgren, 2005), whereas Piioplatecarpus is known only from strata post-dating the lower Campanian (Ectenosaurus is, so far, known exclusively from the upper Coniacian-lowermost Campanian Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation in western Kansas; see Russell, 1967).…”

Section: Subfamily Plioplatecarpinae Genus Plioplatecarpus Dollo 1882mentioning

confidence: 99%

Danish mosasaurs

Jagt

2005

Geol. mijnb.

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Presented are the first formal descriptions of mosasaur remains of Maastrichtian age from the Danish mainland (Jylland, Sjaelland); just two taxa are recognised, viz. Mosasaurus cf. hoffmanni and Plioplatecarpus sp. Recent finds include an association of skeletal fragments, inclusive of a single marginal tooth crown, from within 10 metres or so of the K/T boundary near Holtug, Stevns Klint (Sjaelland, eastern Denmark), here assigned to Plioplatecarpus sp. A brief review of previous records of Danish mosasaurs is added.

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First record of the mosasaur Platecarpus Cope, 1869 from South America and its systematic implications

Cited by 13 publications

References 29 publications

Cretaceous paleogeography, paleoclimatology, and amniote biogeography of the low and mid-latitude South Atlantic Ocean

Cretaceous paleogeography, paleoclimatology, and amniote biogeography of the low and mid-latitude South Atlantic Ocean

A new squamate lizard from the Upper Cretaceous Adamantina Formation (Bauru Group), São Paulo State, Brazil

Danish mosasaurs

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