Gavialimimus
| Gavialimimus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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| Reconstructed skeleton of an indeterminate Moroccan plioplatecarpine, possibly G. almaghribensis | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | †Mosasauria |
| Family: | †Mosasauridae |
| Clade: | †Russellosaurina |
| Clade: | †Selmasaurini |
| Genus: | †Gavialimimus Strong et al., 2020 |
| Type species | |
| †Gavialimimus almaghribensis Strong et al., 2020
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Gavialimimus is an extinct genus of plioplatecarpine mosasaur from the Maastrichtian of Morocco and possibly Angola. It was a medium-sized mosasaur measuring around 6 metres (20 ft) in total body length.[1]
Discovery and naming
[edit]The holotype MHNM.KHG.1231, an articulated skull and associated fragmentary postcrania, was found in the Ouled Abdoun Basin.[2] In 2023, a 4 metres (13 ft) long specimen from Angola identified as Gavialimimus sp. was found within the guts of Prognathodon kianda.[3]
The etymology of this genus means "gharial mimic" (Hindi Gavial = "gharial" + Greek mimus = "mimic"). The genus name refers to morphological convergence between Gavialimimus and the extant gharial (Gavialis gangeticus). Gavialimimus has been said to occupy the niche of a large piscivore. In this way, through severe specialization, it managed to co-exist with several other large mosasaur species in the same area.[2]
Classification
[edit]In their 2024 description of the Moroccan plioplatecarpine Khinjaria, Longrich et al. used phylogenetic analyses to recover it within a clade of non-plioplatecarpin plioplatecarpine mosasaurids. They named this clade—also containing Gavialimimus, Goronyosaurus and Selmasaurus—the Selmasaurini.[4] A similar clade was recovered by Strong et al. (2020) in their description of Gavialimimus.[2] The results of the analyses of Longrich et al. are shown in the cladogram below:
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References
[edit]- ^ Cooper, S.L.A.; Marson, K.J.; Smith, R.E.; Martill, D. (2022). "Contrasting preservation in pycnodont fishes reveals first record of regurgitalites from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Moroccan phosphate deposits". Cretaceous Research. 131 (4). 105111. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105111.
- ^ a b c Strong, Catherine R. C.; Caldwell, Michael W.; Konishi, Takuya; Palci, Alessandro (2020-09-28). "A new species of longirostrine plioplatecarpine mosasaur (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco, with a re-evaluation of the problematic taxon 'Platecarpus' ptychodon". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (21): 1769–1804. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1818322.
- ^ Polcyn, Michael J.; Schulp, Anne S.; Gonçalves, António O. (2023). "Remarkably well-preserved in-situ gut-content in a specimen of Prognathodon kianda (Squamata: Mosasauridae) reveals multispecies intrafamilial predation, cannibalism, and a new mosasaurine taxon". In Lee, Y.-N. (ed.). Windows Into Sauropsid and Synapsid Evolution. Dinosaur Science Center Press. pp. 66–98. ISBN 978-89-5708-358-1.
- ^ Longrich, Nicholas R.; Polcyn, Michael J.; Jalil, Nour-Eddine; Pereda-Suberbiola, Xabier; Bardet, Nathalie (2024-03-01). "A bizarre new plioplatecarpine mosasaurid from the Maastrichtian of Morocco". Cretaceous Research: 105870. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105870. ISSN 0195-6671.
| Mosasaurinae |
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| Halisaurinae |
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| Russellosaurina |
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| Related groups and genera | |||||||||||||
| Related articles | |||||||||||||
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