Liodon

Liodon
	Pine from Liodon mosasauroides in the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle in Paris.
Temporal occurrence
	Upper Cretaceous ( Campanium to Maastrichtian )
	83.6 to 66 million years
Locations
	Europe (France, Netherlands, Essex ); North America ( New Jersey ); Morocco;
Systematics
	Toxicofera
	Sneaky (Anguimorpha)
	Mosasauroidea
	Mosasaur (Mosasauridae)
	Mosasaurinae
	Liodon
Scientific name
	Liodon
	Agassiz , 1846

Liodon ( Gr .: leios = smooth; odon = tooth; Syn . : Leiodon Owen, 1841) is a genus of mosasaurs from the Upper Cretaceous period .

features

A 1.7 cm high tooth by Liodon anceps from the phosphate deposits of Khouribga (Morocco)

From liodon especially jaw fragments and teeth were found. It was named after its shark-like, smooth and slightly curved teeth. Among all mosasaurs, its teeth were most suitable for tearing meat from prey consisting of fish and other reptiles. Apart from the skull, no parts of the skeleton have been described.

The skull could reach an estimated length of 1.2 meters, the length of the entire animal is estimated at 8 to more than 12 meters.

species

Liodon anceps (type species), from Essex
Liodon mosasauroides , from southwest France, the largest species at over twelve meters in length.
Liodon sectorius , from New Jersey and the Netherlands, only eight to ten meters long.

Liodon dyspelor and Liodon proriger are now considered species of Tylosaurus . In contrast, Mosasaurus hobetsuensis from Japan could be a specimen of Liodon .

literature

Richard Ellis: Sea Dragons. Predators of the Prehistoric Oceans. University Press of Kansas, Lawrence KS 2003, ISBN 0-7006-1269-6 .

Web links

Commons : Liodon - collection of images, videos and audio files

Ben Creisler: Mosasauridae Translation and Pronunciation Guide Liodon