MOSASAURINAE, Gervais, 1853

Caldwell, M. W., 2007, Ontogeny, anatomy and attachment of the dentition in mosasaurs (Mosasauridae: Squamata), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 149 (4), pp. 687-700 : 692

( MOSASAURINAE )

The illustrated specimen ( Fig. 3C ) is a lateral view of the right pterygoid of Cuvier’s specimen of the ‘Monster of Maastricht’, on display in the main hall of the Museum Nationale d’histoire Naturelle, Paris. Resorption pits are present in the cement at the base of the root; the pits are not posteriorly positioned but rather are at the mid-point of the tooth base. The alveoli are bounded on only three sides by alveolar bone, as compared with the four-sided sockets found in the marginal TBEs. The important feature of this particular pterygoid’s dentition is the clearly, nonrecumbent position of the replacement tooth sitting within the resorption crypt. The replacement tooth does not bear any obvious amount of cement at its base but has been preserved in anatomical position as opposed to falling over within the crypt.

Figures

Figure 3. A, palatal view of right and left maxillae and vomeropalatines of Mosasaurus hoffmanni (IRScNB R12). B, close up of ‘A’ showing vertical position of all replacement teeth sitting in posterolingually positioned resorption pits. C, lateral view of right pterygoid of holotype specimen of Mosasaurus hoffmanni (MNHM 9648).