Bentiabasaurus

Bentiabasaurus Temporal range: Maastrichtian, 71.40–71.64 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Main skull block of holotype (MGUAN P183D) on temporary display at the Smithsonian Museum
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Clade:	†Mosasauria
Superfamily:	†Mosasauroidea
Family:	†Mosasauridae
Tribe:	†Plotosaurini
Genus:	†Bentiabasaurus Polcyn, Schulp & Gonçalves, 2023
Type species
†Bentiabasaurus jacobsi Polcyn, Schulp & Gonçalves, 2023

Bentiabasaurus is an extinct genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous Mocuio Formation of Angola.^[1] The type and only species of the genus, B. jacobsi, was described in 2023 by Michael Polcyn, Anne Schulp and António Gonçalves. The animal is known from a partial skeleton, including parts of the skull and mandibles, alongside a number of vertebrae and ribs. The syntypes were recovered from the Bench 19 Bonebed near Bentiaba, Angola. The genus name is a combination of the name Bentiaba, the place near which it was found, and the Ancient Greek σαῦρος (saûros, "lizard"). The species name, jacobsi, refers to Professor Louis L. Jacobs, in honor of his contributions to African vertebrate paleontology.^[2]

References[edit]