Mosasaurs (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Southern Urals

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Abstract

The study of new finds of mosasaurids from the Izhberda locality (Southern Urals, Orenburg Region) allowed to identify for the first time for the Upper Cretaceous of the Orenburg Region the presence of mosasaurs from the subfamilies Mosasaurinae, Tylosaurinae and Plioplatecarpinae, including representatives of the genera Mosasaurus, Prognathodon and Clidastes known from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and Western Europe. Of interest is the discovery of the tylosaurine Taniwhasaurus, previously known from New Zealand, Antarctica, South Africa and Japan. Thus, the Campanian mosasaurid fauna of the Southern Urals is intermediate, including North American–European and Asia–Pacific taxa. However, all finds of mosasaurs from the Izhberda locality can be identified only in open nomenclature, making detailed comparisons of faunas difficult. Revision of material to the article of N.N. Bogolyubov (1910), who first described the remains of mosasaurs from the Southern Urals collected by P.S. Nazarov, allowed us to conclude that the type series of the mosasaur Liodon rhipaeus Bogolubov, 1910, in addition to three mosasaurian vertebrae, includes the ischium and the posterior fragment of the mandible of a plesiosaur. Liodon rhipaeus is clearly a nomen dubium and the vertebrae of its type series cannot be identified more precisely than Tylosaurinae indet.

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About the authors

D. V. Grigoriev

Saint Petersburg State University; Zooloogical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences

Author for correspondence.
Email: grigoriev_dmitry@mail.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg, 199034; St. Petersburg, 199034

N. G. Zverkov

Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences

Email: grigoriev_dmitry@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow, 119017

A. V. Nikiforov

Club of Young Geologists and Ecologists named after G.A. Sopotsko

Email: grigoriev_dmitry@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Orsk, 462404

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2. Fig. 1. The layout of the known Late Cretaceous localities of Orenburg region. 1 – Kinderlya river; 2 – Tukenbet River; 3 – Khmelevka river; 4 – Izhberdinsky quarry; 5 – Kayala River.

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3. Fig. 2. Dental crown of Mosasaurus sp., ex. OSMM No. 148: a – lingual view, b – buccal view, c – front view, d – back view, e – apical view, f – enlarged fragment showing teeth on the carina; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian.

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4. Fig. 3. Clidastes sp.: a–d – dental crown, ex. OSMM No. 118: a – lingual view, b – buccal view, c – front view, d – back view, e – apical view; e–k – thoracic vertebra, ex. OSMM No. 133: e – front view, w – back view, w – dorsal view, i – ventral view, k – lateral view; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian. Designations: cdl – posterior articular surface of the vertebra; ctl – anterior articular surface of the vertebra; ns – spinous process; poz – posterior articular process of the vertebra, postzygapophysis; syn – lateral process of the vertebra; zg is a ziganter.

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5. Fig. 4. Dental crown of Prognathodon sp., ex. OSMM No. 105: a – lingual view, b – buccal view, c – front view, d – rear view, e – apical view; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian.

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6. Fig. 5. Dental crowns of Taniwhasaurus sp.: ex. OSMM No. 102 (a–d) and copies. OSMM No. 163 (e–i): a, e – lingual view; b – buccal view; c, w – front view; h – rear view; d, i – apical view; e – view of the pulp cavity; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, lower campan.

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7. Fig. 6. Premaxillary bones of Tylosaurinae indet.: specimens. OSMM No. 112 (a–b) and copies. OSMM No. 132 (g–e): a, d – dorsal view; b, e – ventral view; c, e – lateral view; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian. Designations: cre – ventral crest, f – frontal bone, f nerve – branches of the facial nerve, int bar – nasal septum of the premaxillary bone, mx – maxillary bone, pmx – premaxillary bone, sut – premaxillary suture surface. The schematic representation of the anterior part of the mosasaur skull is based on the skull of Tylosaurus proriger (according to Russel, 1967, with changes).

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8. Fig. 7. Tylosaurinae indet.: a–e – pterygoid tooth, ex. OSMM No. 104: a – lingual view, b – buccal view, c – front view, d – rear view, e – apical view, e – view of the pulp cavity; w–k – caudal postpigeal vertebra, ex. OSMM No. 6: w – rear view, w – dorsal view, I – ventral view, k – lateral view; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian. Designations: ctl is the anterior articular surface of the vertebra, ha is the hemal arch, na is the neural arch, tp is the transverse process.

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9. Fig. 8. Plioplatecarpinae indet.: a–d – dental crown, ex. OSMM No. 107: a – lingual view, b – buccal view, c – front view, d – back view, e – apical view; e–k – second cervical vertebra, ex. OSMM No. 156: e – front view, w – back view, w – dorsal view, i – ventral view, k – lateral view; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian. Designations: a ana is a facet for connection to the neural arch of the Atlas, a axi is a facet for connection to the intercenter of the Atlas, cdl is the posterior articular surface of the vertebra, ctl is the anterior articular surface of the vertebra, hyp is the pituitary gland, na is the neural arch, syn is the lateral process of the vertebra.

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10. Fig. 9. Anterior cervical vertebra of Plioplatecarpinae indet., ex. OSMM No. 101: a – front view, b – lateral view, c – dorsal view of the pituitary pedicle, d – ventral view of the pituitary pedicle; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian. Designations: cdl is the posterior articular surface of the vertebra, ct syn is the ridge between the anterior articular surface of the vertebra and the lateral process, f cer is the facet for connecting to the cervical vertebra, hyp is the pituitary gland, hyppr is the pedicle of the pituitary gland, ns is the spinous process, poz is the posterior articular process of the vertebra, syn is the lateral process of the vertebra.

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11. Fig. 10. Posterior cervical vertebra of Plioplatecarpinae indet., ex. OSMM No. 153: a – front view, b – back view, c – dorsal view, d – ventral view, e – lateral view; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian. Designations: prz is the anterior articular process of the vertebra; for the rest, see Fig. 3, 9.

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12. Fig. 11. The Atlanta Intercenter of Mosasauridae indet., ex. OSMM No. 158: a – view from the ventral side, b – view from the dorsal side, c – view from the front, d – view from the right; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian. Notation: f at is a facet for connecting to Atlas, f ax is a facet for connecting to epistropheus.

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13. Fig. 12. Dorsal vertebra of Mosasauridae indet., ex. OSMM No. 17: a – front view, b – back view, c – dorsal view, d – ventral view, e, f – lateral views; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian.

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14. Fig. 13. Mosasauridae indet.: a–d – caudal postpigeal vertebra, ex. OSMM No. 157: a – front view, b – rear view, c – ventral view, d – dorsal view, e – lateral view; e–k – caudal terminal vertebra, ex. OSMM No. 156: e – front view, w – back view, w – view from the ventral side, i – view from the dorsal side, k – view from the lateral side; Russia, Orenburg region, Izhberdinsky quarry; Upper Cretaceous, Lower Campanian.

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15. 14. Paleogeographic map for Campanian time, showing known finds of representatives of the genus Taniwhasaurus (according to: Caldwell et al., 2008, with changes).

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