Carinodens
Carinodens was a small mosasaur, a marine lizard that lived in the late Cretaceous seas. It had round, blunt teeth like a set of nutcrackers for crushing hard-shelled animals. At only about 2 to 2.6 metres long, it was one of the tiniest mosasaurs ever.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How big was Carinodens compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast was it?
Fun facts
Carinodens was first thought to be a crocodile! A fossil jaw was originally named Bottosaurus belgicus and considered a crocodilian before being recognized as a mosasaur.1
Its teeth were very different from each other. The front teeth were round and curved, while the back teeth were flat and blade-like with a keel on each side.1
Scientists can tell what Carinodens ate by looking at tiny scratches on its teeth. The wear patterns show it munched on hard-shelled animals that lived on the seafloor.1
Carinodens is closely related to Globidens, another mosasaur with crushing teeth. Together they belong to a group called Globidensini.1
The name Carinodens means 'keel teeth' because its teeth have a ridge like the keel of a boat. It replaced the older name Compressidens, which was already used for a different animal.1
Most asked questions about Carinodens
?What did Carinodens eat?
Carinodens ate hard-shelled animals like clams, oysters, and sea urchins. Its blunt teeth were perfect for crushing them, and scratches on the teeth show it munched on creatures that lived on the seafloor.12
?How big was Carinodens?
Carinodens was about 2 to 2.6 metres (6.6 to 8.5 feet) long. That makes it one of the smallest mosasaurs ever.1
?Where did Carinodens live?
Carinodens lived in the late Cretaceous seas, and its fossils have been found in Europe, North America, South America, and North Africa. Most skull fossils come from the Netherlands and Belgium.1
?Is Carinodens a dinosaur?
No, Carinodens is not a dinosaur. It is a marine lizard called a mosasaur that lived in the sea during the time of the dinosaurs.1
Ask Rex about Carinodens
Rex only answers questions about this page. 10 questions a month.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Carinodens
- Named by
- Thurmond 19693
- Group
- Mosasaurs
- Family / clade
- Mosasauridae3
- Classification
- Mosasauroidea3
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
- Rock formations
- Maastricht, Gramame, Bereza Beds3
- Countries
- Netherlands, Morocco, Brazil, Ukraine, Russia, Belgium3
- Fossil records
- 16 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- The first fossils were found in Belgium and described by Louis Dollo in 1913 as Globidens fraasi. In 1969, J.T. Thurmond gave it the new name Carinodens because the old name was already taken.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure how many species of Carinodens existed. Some think C. belgicus and C. fraasi might be the same species, while others believe they are different based on tooth shape.1
Where the facts come from
- Carinodens (en.wikipedia.org)
- Feeding the Mechanical Mosasaur: what did Carinodens eat? | Netherlands Journal of Geosciences | Cambridge Core (cambridge.org)
- Carinodens in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex
Mosasaurus
Prognathodon
Tylosaurus
Platecarpus
Clidastes
Globidens
Tyrannosaurus
Triceratops
Velociraptor
Spinosaurus
Ankylosaurus
Parasaurolophus