Coniasaurus

Coniasaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 100–84 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Dolichosauridae
Genus: Coniasaurus
Owen, 1850
Species
  • C. cressidus Owen, 1850 (type)
  • C. gracilodens

Coniasaurus is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous marine squamates that range in age from Cenomanian to Santonian.[1] It was first described by Richard Owens in 1850 from lower Cenomanian chalk deposits in southeast England.[2] Two species have been described from this genus: C.crassidens (Owen, 1850), known from Cenomanian to Santonian deposits from southeast England, Germany and North America, and C.gracilodens (Caldwell, 1999) from the Cenomanian of southeast England.[1]

Coniasaurus has only been described from incomplete specimens, but it is known to have had a relatively elongate skull with specialised teeth.[1] By comparison with Dolichosaurus and other dolichosaurs, it may have had four short limbs and an elongate neck and body. A maximum length of about 0.5 m has been proposed.[2]

Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Coniasaurus is a sister group to the Mosasauroidea within the Pythonomorpha clade.[3]

References

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