2.3 ” Tooth Globidens Mosasaur fossil in Matrix teeth Dinosaur Khouribga Morocco

Name: Globidens ‭(‬Globe teeth‭)‬.
Phonetic: Glo-bih-denz.
Named By: Gilmore‭ ‬-‭ ‬1912.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Squamata,‭ ‬Scleroglossa,‭ ‬Mosasauridae,‭ ‬Mosasaurinae,‭ ‬Globidensini.
Species: G.‭ ‬alabamaensis‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬G.‭ ‬dakotensis,‭ ‬G.‭ phosphaticus,‭ ‬G.‭ ‬schurmanni, G. simplex.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: 6‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: USA.‭ ‬Africa.
Time period: Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: ‭M‬any specimens.

Although Globidens was not the only mosasaur to adapt to a diet of almost exclusively hard shelled animals,‭ ‬it does display perhaps the most specialised teeth.‭ ‬Rather than the sharp conical teeth seen in other mosasaurs such as Tylosaurus and Taniwhasaurus,‭ ‬Globidens had rounded teeth that had a‭ ‘‬globe shaped‭’‬ upper portion of the crown that sat upon a slightly narrower base.‭ ‬An important aspect of the teeth being semispherical rather than conical is that they were much more resilient to impact damage such as chips and cracks.‭ ‬This meant that every time the jaw was moved up and down,‭ ‬each tooth would strike the shell of the prey animal like a ball hammer,‭ ‬cracking up the shell so that Globidens could get at the soft flesh within.‭