Research Paper
First record of a mosasaurid (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Ecuador
DOMENICA N. GARZON
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; garzon3@illinois.edu.
Corresponding author
PAUL ARELLANO
School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Knoles Dr, Flagstaff, 86011, AZ, United States; paularellano@hotmail.com.
JORGE TORO-ÁLAVA
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; jedutoro@yahoo.es.
JOSÉ LUIS ROMÁN-CARRIÓN
Departamento de Biología, Escuela Politécnica Nacional (EPN), Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, 170143, Quito, Ecuador; joseluis.roman@epn.edu.ec.
JULIÁN E. ORDOÑEZ
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; jose.escobar@yachaytech.edu.ec.
PAMELA ANDRADE
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; pamela.andrade@yachaytech.edu.ec.
CARLOS MENDOZA-OCHOA
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; carlos.mendoza@yachaytech.edu.ec.
PAULA AYALA
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; maria.ayalal@yachaytech.edu.ec.
MATEO OLEAS
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; mateo.oleas@yachaytech.edu.ec,
ANTHONY VIZCAINO
Universidad de Investigación de Tecnología Experimental Yachay (Yachay Tech University), Hacienda San José, 100115, Urcuqui, Ecuador; anthony.vizcaino@yachaytech.edu.ec;
NELSON MESÍAS JIMÉNEZ-ORELLANA
Facultad de Ingeniería en Ciencias de la Tierra, Escuela Politécnica del Litoral (ESPOL), Km 30.5 Vía Perimetral, 090112, Guayaquil, Ecuador; nmjimene@espol.edu.ec.
ABSTRACT
We report the first Upper Cretaceous marine reptile fossil in Ecuador, identified as an incomplete right maxilla from the Mosasauridae family. The remains were unearthed from marine marlstones and limestones within a karstic cave in the Tamia Yura indigenous community, situated northeast of Tena in the central Subandean Zone of the Ecuadorian Amazon. Morphological analysis reveals seven preserved teeth conical in shape. Stratigraphic analysis suggests the remains belong to the Middle Napo Fm., Oriente basin, indicating a presence from the Turonian to the end of the Coniacian. This discovery offers new insights into the study of Cretaceous marine reptiles in South America.
Key words: Mosasauridae, Amazon, Ecuador, Subandean Zone, Oriente Basin, Cretaceous.
How to cite: Garzon, D. N., Arellano, P., Toro-Álava, J., Román-Carrión, J. L., Ordoñez, J. E. Andrade, P., Mendoza-Ochoa, C., Ayala, P., Oleas, M., Vizcaino, A., & Jiménez-Orellana, N. M. (2024). First record of a mosasaurid (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of Ecuador. Spanish Journal of Palaeontology, 39.
Received 24 June 2023, Accepted 11 June 2024, Published online 23 July 2024
https://doi.org/10.7203/sjp.29179
