Giant Mosasaurus hoffmanni (Squamata, Mosasauridae) from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Penza, Russia

D.V. Grigoriev

Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 2014, 318(2): 148–167 · https://doi.org/10.31610/trudyzin/2014.318.2.148

Full text

Abstract

This study provides a morphological description of the fragmentary skull of a mosasaur discovered in 1927 in the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) deposits in the city of Penza (Russia). Some bones from the original material had been lost since their discovery; their description is based on plaster casts. The Penza mosasaur displays characteristic features of Mosasaurus hoffmanni such as the posterior carina that shifts from a somewhat lateral position in the anterior teeth to a posterior position further along the tooth row, a frontal with convex lateral margins, and a powerfully built dentary. This is the first unequivocal record of this taxon from Russia. M. hoffmanni from the Penza is one of the largest mosasaurs ever known with an overall length of the body about 17 m.

Key words

Maastrichtian, Cretaceous, Penza, Mosasaurus hoffmanni, Mosasauridae

Submitted December 13, 2013 · Accepted May 7, 2014 · Published June 25, 2014

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