A unique sacroiliac contact in mosasaurs (Sauria, Varanoidea, Mosasauridae)
- 19 June 1986
- journal article
- other
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
- Vol. 6 (2) , 197-199
- https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.1986.10011611
Abstract
A fossa on the posterolateral side of the synapophysis of the sacral vertebra, a proximal condyle on the ilium, and the smooth fit of those two surfaces in articulation in a specimen of the mosasaur Clidastes, represent a unique sacroiliac contact. The mobility of this sacral arrangement may have enabled the pelvic girdle to be adducted to streamline the body and the hypothetical birth canal to be expanded. This configuration appears to support Williston's (1904) belief that mosasaurs were ovoviviparous.Keywords
This publication has 1 reference indexed in Scilit:
- The Relationships and Habits of the MosasaursThe Journal of Geology, 1904