Stomach contents of Globidens, a shell-crushing mosasaur (Squamata), from the Late Cretaceous Pierre Shale Group, Big Bend area of the Missouri River, central South Dakota

Abstract

One of the rarest of marine reptiles is the mosasaur genus Globidens, characterized by a massive, bulbous dentition. The rarity of the taxon, coupled with the bulbous dentition, resulted in various theories concerning life habits. Although a consensus indicates that the dentition was adapted for crushing resistant elements, hypotheses have varied concerning prey, ranging from turtles or bivalves to scavenging. Finally, a partial skeleton of Globidens has been recovered from the Big Bend area of the Missouri River in central South Dakota. The specimen was discovered in the upperDeGrey Formation (upperCampanian) of the Pierre Shale Group. During analysis, bivalve...

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