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Rikisaurus tehoensis
Taxonomy
Rikisaurus tehoensis was named by Wiffen (1990). Its type specimen is CD531, a skull (Articulated skull and four cervical vertebrae), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Mangahouanga Stream (V19/f68), which is in a Campanian/Maastrichtian coastal sandstone in the Tahora Formation of New Zealand. It is the type species of Rikisaurus.
Synonymy list
| Year | Name and author |
|---|---|
| 1990 | Rikisaurus tehoensis Wiffen pp. 67-68 figs. 1-3 |
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Rikisaurus tehoensis Wiffen 1990
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| J. Wiffen 1990 | Same as for genus: a small adult mosasaurine with a combination of characteristics distinct from other known taxa, representing an intermediate stage of development
between Clidastes and Mosasaurus. Muzzle is long and slender tapering to a point, the premaxilla is "V" shaped in cross-section with no rostrum anterior to the premaxillary teeth. 13/14 teeth in maxilla, 9 in the pterygoids. All teeth are small, bicarinate, and the enamel surfaces smooth. Prefrontal forms a small part of external nares. Frontal is narrow with straight lateral border and median dorsal ridge. Tongues from the frontal lie parallel to the "V" which surrounds the round parietal foramen. Parietal table long. Suspensorial arcade low, posterior width of skull narrow. Mandible slender, 15/16 teeth. Lower jaws deepening midway, with distinctive semicircular coronoid, and elongate posterior development of lower jaws. Cervical vertebrae small, with round articular facets. |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: f = family, subp = subphylum, p = phylum, uc = unranked clade | |||||
| References: Gervais 1852, Carroll 1988, Kiessling 2004 | |||||
Age range: base of the Late/Upper Campanian to the top of the Early/Lower Maastrichtian or 83.60000 to 66.00000 Ma
Collections: one only
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Campanian - Early/Lower Maastrichtian | New Zealand (Hawke's Bay) | Rikisaurus tehoensis (type locality: 232250) |