Aquatic adaptation, cranial kinesis, and the skull of the mosasaurine mosasaur Plotosaurus bennisoni
(2013) In Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 33(2). p.349-362- Abstract
- New anatomical observations of the holotype skull of Plotosaurus bennisoni from the Maastrichtian Moreno Formation of California, U.S.A., are used as a framework to examine cranial kinesis in derived members of the Mosasaurinae. Enlarged posteromedial flanges of the frontal and extensive lateral contacts of the prefrontal and postorbitofrontal contributed to increased rigidity along the frontoparietal suture (the mesokinetic joint). Sutural contacts of the parietal with the supraoccipital posteriorly and the prootic ventrally would have restricted metakinetic movements. Furthermore, the unusual shape of the epipterygoid, and its dorsal contact with the prootic and parietal, shows that the epipterygoid and pterygoid were probably not... (More)
- New anatomical observations of the holotype skull of Plotosaurus bennisoni from the Maastrichtian Moreno Formation of California, U.S.A., are used as a framework to examine cranial kinesis in derived members of the Mosasaurinae. Enlarged posteromedial flanges of the frontal and extensive lateral contacts of the prefrontal and postorbitofrontal contributed to increased rigidity along the frontoparietal suture (the mesokinetic joint). Sutural contacts of the parietal with the supraoccipital posteriorly and the prootic ventrally would have restricted metakinetic movements. Furthermore, the unusual shape of the epipterygoid, and its dorsal contact with the prootic and parietal, shows that the epipterygoid and pterygoid were probably not capable of anteroposterior movements. Most strikingly, Plotosaurus exhibits a tight association of the quadrate with the temporal arcade, suggesting that streptostyly was limited or lost in this derived mosasaurine, the loss of such a feature having never been described in a mosasaur. These charcteristics are placed in a functional context to examine aquatic adaptations in mosasaurs. As one of the most specialized mosasaurs known, the loss of cranial kinesis may have evolved as a result of its piscivorous diet. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/3931335
- author
- LeBlanc, Aaron R. H. ; Caldwell, Michael W. and Lindgren, Johan LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2013
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- in
- Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
- volume
- 33
- issue
- 2
- pages
- 349 - 362
- publisher
- Society of Vertebrate Paleontology
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000319564300007
- scopus:84878223242
- ISSN
- 0272-4634
- DOI
- 10.1080/02724634.2013.726675
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- cea99da0-fe5f-4945-8b87-0ab1f76cb196 (old id 3931335)
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 14:05:52
- date last changed
- 2022-04-06 08:45:53
@article{cea99da0-fe5f-4945-8b87-0ab1f76cb196,
abstract = {{New anatomical observations of the holotype skull of Plotosaurus bennisoni from the Maastrichtian Moreno Formation of California, U.S.A., are used as a framework to examine cranial kinesis in derived members of the Mosasaurinae. Enlarged posteromedial flanges of the frontal and extensive lateral contacts of the prefrontal and postorbitofrontal contributed to increased rigidity along the frontoparietal suture (the mesokinetic joint). Sutural contacts of the parietal with the supraoccipital posteriorly and the prootic ventrally would have restricted metakinetic movements. Furthermore, the unusual shape of the epipterygoid, and its dorsal contact with the prootic and parietal, shows that the epipterygoid and pterygoid were probably not capable of anteroposterior movements. Most strikingly, Plotosaurus exhibits a tight association of the quadrate with the temporal arcade, suggesting that streptostyly was limited or lost in this derived mosasaurine, the loss of such a feature having never been described in a mosasaur. These charcteristics are placed in a functional context to examine aquatic adaptations in mosasaurs. As one of the most specialized mosasaurs known, the loss of cranial kinesis may have evolved as a result of its piscivorous diet.}},
author = {{LeBlanc, Aaron R. H. and Caldwell, Michael W. and Lindgren, Johan}},
issn = {{0272-4634}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{2}},
pages = {{349--362}},
publisher = {{Society of Vertebrate Paleontology}},
series = {{Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology}},
title = {{Aquatic adaptation, cranial kinesis, and the skull of the mosasaurine mosasaur Plotosaurus bennisoni}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2013.726675}},
doi = {{10.1080/02724634.2013.726675}},
volume = {{33}},
year = {{2013}},
}