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1 April 2007 Skeletochronology of the limb elements of mosasaurs (Squamata; Mosasauridae)
Rodrigo Pellegrini
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Abstract

Skeletochronology is a method used to determine the age of an individual from bone histology. The method is based on growth lines found in cortical bone, an area until now seldom examined in mosasaurs. For the first time, diaphysial thin sections of Tylosaurus, Platecarpus and Clidastes limb bones are studied using skeletochronological techniques. Results indicate that sexual maturity in mosasaurs was reached between ages five and seven, and that the mosasaurs studied exhibit a typical sauropsid growth pattern, although their growth rates are interpreted as faster than those of extant taxa because of fully aquatic adaptations.

Rodrigo Pellegrini "Skeletochronology of the limb elements of mosasaurs (Squamata; Mosasauridae)," Transactions of the Kansas Academy of Science 110(1), 83-99, (1 April 2007). https://doi.org/10.1660/0022-8443(2007)110[83:SOTLEO]2.0.CO;2
Published: 1 April 2007
KEYWORDS
annual growth rings
bone microstructure
growth rates
Histology
Mosasauridae
Skeletochronology
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