8-557: Mosasaurini is an extinct tribe of mosasaurine mosasaurs who lived during the Late Cretaceous and whose fossils have been found in North America , South America , Europe , Africa and Oceania , with questionable occurrences in Asia . They are highly derived mosasaurs, containing genera like Plotosaurus , having unique adaptations to fast swimming speeds, or Mosasaurus , which
16-457: A tribe is a taxonomic rank above genus , but below family and subfamily . It is sometimes subdivided into subtribes . By convention, all taxa ranked above species are capitalized, including both tribe and subtribe. In zoology , the standard ending for the name of a zoological tribe is "-ini". Examples include the tribes Caprini (goat-antelopes), Hominini (hominins), Bombini (bumblebees), and Thunnini (tunas). The tribe Hominini
24-643: A classification hierarchy, and that the original diagnostics of the Plotosaurini is outdated. The taxa Mosasaurini has historically been more inclusive, on occasion including genera such as Plesiotylosaurus , Liodon and Clidastes , all of which are now seen as more basal mosasaurines. A more recently suggested definition is a branch-based definition diagnosing the Mosasaurini as the most inclusive clade containing Mosasaurus hoffmannii but not Globidens dakotensis . Tribe (biology) In biology ,
32-424: Is among the largest known marine reptiles . The tribe was erected by Russell in 1967, stating that it is unified by having twelve or less pygal vertebrae and that the radius and ulna are widely separated by a bridge of carpalia on the distal border of the antebrachial foramen . But In a 1997 study, paleontologist Gorden Bell recovered Plotosaurus , which was formerly classified within another tribe called
40-408: Is divided into subtribes by some scientists; subtribe Hominina then comprises "humans". The standard ending for the name of a zoological subtribe is "-ina". In botany , the standard ending for the name of a botanical tribe is "-eae". Examples include the tribes Acalypheae and Hyacintheae . The tribe Hyacintheae is divided into subtribes, including the subtribe Massoniinae. The standard ending for
48-450: The Plotosaurini, as a sister genus to Mosasaurus . This rendered the Mosasaurini paraphyletic , which meant that it now contains a descendant lineage (Plotosaurini) that is not classified under it, and made its definition defunct. Paraphylys are forbidden in cladistics and so scientists must reclassify groups in order to eliminate such discrepancies if possible. Bell proposed that the Mosasaurini should be abandoned and that all members of
56-457: The name of a botanical subtribe is "-inae". In bacteriology , the form of tribe names is as in botany, e.g., Pseudomonadeae, based on the genus name Pseudomonas . An unfamiliar taxonomic rank cannot necessarily be identified as a tribe merely by the presence of one of the standard suffixes: Accordingly, working within animals alone, subfamily -inae , tribe -ini, and subtribe -ina are unique suffixes to their specific taxonomic ranks. At
64-428: The tribe should be incorporated into the Plotosaurini. While other scientists agree that a tribe containing Mosasaurus should be monophyletic , they argue that Mosasaurini should be the valid tribe. For example, in a 2012 study, Aaron LeBlanc, Caldwell, and Bardet argued that, while it is not necessarily invalid, abandoning Mosasaurini would not follow the general principle of the type genus carrying over to all ranks in
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