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Eonatator sternbergii

Reptilia - Mosasauridae

Taxonomy
Clidastes sternbergi was named by Wiman (1920). Its type specimen is UPI R 163, a partial skeleton (A nearly complete skeleton), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Bilby's Ranch, Beaver Creek, which is in a Santonian marine chalk in the Niobrara Formation of Kansas. It is the type species of Eonatator.

It was corrected as Clidastes sternbergii by Hay (1930); it was recombined as Halisaurus sternbergi by Russell (1970), Thurmond and Jones (1981), Bardet and Pereda Suberbiola (2001), Lindgren and Siverson (2005) and Fanti et al. (2014); it was recombined as Eonatator sternbergii by Bardet et al. (2005) and Driscoll et al. (2019).

Synonymy list
YearName and author
1920Clidastes sternbergi Wiman p. 13 figs. Figs. 4-9, Plates 3-4
1930Clidastes sternbergii Hay p. 263
1967Clidastes sternbergi Russell p. 126
1970Halisaurus sternbergi Russell p. 369
1981Halisaurus sternbergi Thurmond and Jones p. 155
2001Halisaurus sternbergi Bardet and Pereda Suberbiola
2005Eonatator sternbergii Bardet et al.
2005Halisaurus sternbergi Lindgren and Siverson
2014Halisaurus sternbergi Fanti et al.
2019Eonatator sternbergii Driscoll et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
Reptiliomorpha
RankNameAuthor
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
Squamata()
familyMosasauridae
Halisaurinae
Halisaurini
genusEonatator
speciessternbergii(Wiman 1920)

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.

Eonatator sternbergii Wiman 1920
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Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
J. Lindgren and M. Siverson 2005Cervical and dorsal vertebrae very large relative to overall size of the animal. Marginal tooth-crowns small (up to 12.5 mm high), conical and subcircular in cross section. Carinae on marginal teeth inconspicuous. Enamel on marginal crowns thick at apex but very thin at base of crown. Surface of enamel either smooth or developed into faint, closely spaced, and undulating striations (particularly on the lingual face). Twenty-two teeth in dentary.
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialuc
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: aquaticf
Diet: carnivoref
Vision: well-developedf
Reproduction: ovoviviparousf
Created: 2018-01-05 16:32:54
Modified: 2018-01-05 16:32:54
Source: f = family, c = class, subp = subphylum, uc = unranked clade
References: Carroll 1988, Gervais 1852, Hendy et al. 2009

Age range: base of the Late/Upper Santonian to the top of the Early/Lower Campanian or 85.80000 to 70.60000 Ma

Collections (5 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Late/Upper Santonian85.8 - 83.5USA (Kansas) Clidastes sternbergi (type locality: 109698)
Late/Upper Santonian - Early/Lower Campanian85.8 - 70.6USA (Alabama) Halisaurus sternbergi (81972)
Early/Lower Campanian83.5 - 70.6Sweden (Skane) Halisaurus sternbergi (106411)
Early/Lower Campanian83.5 - 70.6Sweden (Skåne) Halisaurus sternbergi (74334)
Early/Lower Campanian83.5 - 70.6Sweden Halisaurus sternbergi (102883)