Globidens

Globidens
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 84.9–66 Ma
Reconstructed skull of G. phosphaticus, National Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Mosasauria
Family: Mosasauridae
Tribe: Globidensini
Genus: Globidens
Gilmore, 1912
Species
  • G. alabamaensis (Type)
    Gilmore, 1912
  • G. dakotensis Russell, 1975
  • G. hisaensis Kaddumi, 2009
  • G. phosphaticus Bardet and Pereda-Suberbiola, 2005
  • G. schurmanni Martin, 2007
  • G. simplex LeBlanc et al., 2019

Globidens ("Globe teeth") is an extinct genus of mosasaurid oceanic lizard classified as part of the Globidensini tribe in the Mosasaurinae subfamily. Globidens belongs to the family Mosasauridae, which consists of several genera of predatory marine lizards of various sizes that were prevalent during the Late Cretaceous. Specimens of Globidens have been discovered in Angola, Brazil, Morocco, Syria and the United States.[1] Among mosasaurs, Globidens is probably most well known for the highly rounded, globe-like teeth that give it its name.

Globidens alabamaensis was the first species of Globidens described, in a publication by Charles W. Gilmore (1912). It is used as the type specimen for Globidens.

  1. ^ Polcyn, Michael J.; Jacobs, Louis L.; Schulp, Anne S.; Mateus, Octávio (1 March 2010). "The North African Mosasaur Globidens phosphaticus from the Maastrichtian of Angola". Historical Biology. 22 (1–3): 175–185. doi:10.1080/08912961003754978.