Stelladens
| Stelladens Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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| Genus: | †Stelladens Longrich et al., 2023
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| †Stelladens mysteriosus Longrich et al., 2023
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Stelladens is an extinct genus of mosasaurine. Fossils of Stelladens have been recovered from the Late Cretaceous Ouled Abdoun Basin of Morocco. The genus contains a single species, S. mysteriosus. It was a medium-sized mosasaur, measuring about 5 metres (16 ft) long.[1][2]
Discovery and naming
[edit]The holotype is MHNM.KHG.1436, a partial left dentary and two associated teeth, and it was discovered in Sidi Chennane, Morocco. It was named and described as Stelladens mysteriosus by Longrich et al. (2023).[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Longrich, Nicholas R.; Jalil, Nour-Eddine; Pereda-Suberbiola, Xabier; Bardet, Nathalie (2023). "Stelladens mysteriosus: A Strange New Mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Morocco". Fossils. 1 (1): 2–14. doi:10.3390/fossils1010002. hdl:10810/64193. ISSN 2813-6284.
- ^ "Star-shaped teeth lead to discovery of new mosasaur species in Morocco". New Atlas. 18 May 2023. Retrieved 23 July 2023.