The northernmost occurrence of Prognathodon (Squamata: Mosasauridae) from the Western Interior Seaway of North America
The marine reptile Prognathodon (Squamata: Mosasauridae), a mosasaurine mosasaur exhibiting a characteristically robust skull and dentition, lived during the last two ages of the Late Cretaceous. Fossilized remains of animals assigned to this genus are so far known from North America, Europe, Africa, and New Zealand, indicating their wide geographic ranges and presumed ecological and evolutionary success. Assignable to Prognathodon, a newly discovered partial marginal tooth from Dorothy, Alberta, Canada (51°15′48″N), extends the geographic range of the genus by 190 km northward in the Northern Hemisphere. Coupled with the New Zealand record of this mosasaur, the new discovery indicates that Prognathodon likely ranged anywhere from 60°N to 60°S paleolatitude, and these reptiles may even have been occasional inhabitants of the polar regions.