Halisaurus
| Halisaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
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| Skeleton in Thermopolis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Scleroglossa |
| Family: | Mosasauridae |
| Subfamily: | Halisaurinae |
| Genus: | Halisaurus |
| Species | |
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Halisaurus ("Ocean Lizard") is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. With a length of 3–4 m (9.8–13.1 ft), it was small compared to most other mosasaurs. It was named by Othniel Charles Marsh in 1869, but renamed Baptosaurus by Marsh in 1870, who thought the name was already in use (preoccupied) by a fish named Halosaurus. According to modern rules, a difference of a letter is enough and the substitute name is unneeded.
Distribution
Halisaurus was distributed throughout the world. It is known from Appalachia (eastern portion of the U.S. during the Cretaceous, divided from the western portion by the Western Interior Seaway), northern Africa, Peru, and parts of mainland Europe.[1]
Taxonomy
The genus Phosphorosaurus was synonymized by some authors, including Bardet et al. (2005) and Lingham-Soliar (1996), but subsequent research indicates that Phosphorosaurus is distinct from Halisaurus.[2][3][4]
In popular culture
Halisaurus had a brief cameo in the BBC program Sea Monsters, a spin-off to the critically acclaimed Walking with Dinosaurs. The program suggested that Halisaurus would hide in underwater caves waiting to attack small animals (i.e.Hesperornis).
References
- ↑ "Fossilworks: Halisaurus". fossilworks.org. Retrieved 2016-04-17.
- ↑ Bardet, N., Pereda Suberbiola, X., Iarochene, M., Bouya, B. & Amaghzaz, M. 2005. A new species of Halisaurus from the Late Cretaceous phosphates of Morocco, and the phylogenetical relationships of the Halisaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauridae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 143, 447–472.
- ↑ Lingham-Soliar, T. 1996. The first description of Halisaurus (Reptilia Mosasauridae) from Europe, from the Upper Cretaceous of Belgium. Bulletin de l'Institut royal des Sciences naturelles de Belgique, Sciences de la Terre, 66, 129–136.
- ↑ Takuya Konishi, Michael W. Caldwell, Tomohiro Nishimura, Kazuhiko Sakurai & Kyo Tanoue (2015) A new halisaurine mosasaur (Squamata: Halisaurinae) from Japan: the first record in the western Pacific realm and the first documented insights into binocular vision in mosasaurs. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (advance online publication) DOI:10.1080/14772019.2015.1113447 http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14772019.2015.1113447#abstract
- Sea Dragons: Predators Of The Prehistoric Oceans by Richard Ellis page (p. 214)
- Ancient Marine Reptiles by Jack M. Callaway and Elizabeth L. Nicholls page (p. 283)
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