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Complex rostral neurovascular system in a giant pliosaur

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Abstract

Pliosaurs were a long-lived, ubiquitous group of Mesozoic marine predators attaining large body sizes (up to 12 m). Despite much being known about their ecology and behaviour, the mechanisms they adopted for prey detection have been poorly investigated and represent a mystery to date. Complex neurovascular systems in many vertebrate rostra have evolved for prey detection. However, information on the occurrence of such systems in fossil taxa is extremely limited because of poor preservation potential. The neurovascular complex from the snout of an exceptionally well-preserved pliosaur from the Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic, c. 170 Myr ago) of Weymouth Bay (Dorset, UK) is described here for the first time. Using computed tomography (CT) scans, the extensive bifurcating neurovascular channels could be traced through the rostrum to both the teeth and the foramina on the dorsal and lateral surface of the snout. The structures on the surface of the skull and the high concentrations of peripheral rami suggest that this could be a sensory system, perhaps similar to crocodile pressure receptors or shark electroreceptors.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the staff of Dorset County Museum and of Jurassic Coast for their helpfulness during visits to Dorchester and the University of Southampton for the CT scans.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol, BS8 1RJ, UK

    Davide Foffa, Judyth Sassoon, Andrew R. Cuff & Michael J. Benton

  2. μ-VIS CT Imaging Centre, Engineering Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, UK

    Mark N. Mavrogordato

Authors
  1. Davide Foffa
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  2. Judyth Sassoon
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  3. Andrew R. Cuff
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  4. Mark N. Mavrogordato
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  5. Michael J. Benton
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Correspondence to Davide Foffa.

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Communicated by: Robert Reisz

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Foffa, D., Sassoon, J., Cuff, A.R. et al. Complex rostral neurovascular system in a giant pliosaur. Naturwissenschaften 101, 453–456 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1173-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1173-3

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