Cretaceous

Eonatator sternbergi, a mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous of Kansas. Digital.

Phylogenetic relationships, chronostratigraphic, and paleoecological implications of M. intrepidus. a Graphic illustrating temporal range of North American tyrannosauroids including species-level range prior to the discovery of M. intrepidus, extension of current range, and hypothesized range based on isolated teeth12. The current gap in the North American tyrannosauroid record spans from the Tithonian to the Aptian. Faunal composition of Late Cretaceous ecosystems was established between the Albian and Turonian, as recognized by the stratigraphic appearance of major clades (see refs. 7,12 and references therein). b generalized phylogenetic relationships of Tyrannosauroidea, showing the appearance of select traits related to cursoriality in tyrannosaurs that are newly optimized as a result of the discovery of M. intrepidus. Tree topology follows this study using the modified dataset of Carr and colleagues27. Coelurus and Tanycolagreus are grafted as basal tyrannosauroids following Brusatte and colleagues5. c Stratigraphic distribution of Allosauria in North America (incl. Megaraptora but see ref. 70 for alternative hypotheses regarding this clade) documents overlap with M. intrepidus in early Late Cretaceous ecosystems leading to (d) refined calibration on the origin of late diverging tyrannosauroids and clade-level faunal turnover within apex predator roles throughout the Late Jurassic–Late Cretaceous of North America. Colored polygons are stylized call-outs and are not intended to reflect two-dimensional data. Temporal data corresponding to this figure are available in Supplementary Table 5

Clidastes propython, a mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous of Kansas, digital.

Reconstruction of Agustinia ligabuei from the Early Cretaceous of Argentina as a rebbachisaurid following Bellardini et al. 2022

Agustinia ligabuei, a sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of Argentina. Digital.

Pliosaurus (Luskhan itilensis) lived on the territory of the Volga region in the Hauterivian age of the Early Cretaceous period. Discovered in 2002 by G.N. Uspensky on the banks of the Volga near the village of Slantsevy Rudnik. This is the most complete pliosaurus skeleton found in Russia. This pliosaurus was not a predator and preferred to feed on fish and cephalopods.

Reconstruction of brachauchenin pliosaurid Luskhan itilensis. Early Cretaceous of Ulyanovsk region. 2017.

A new plesiosaur, Leurospondylus, from the Edmonton Cretaceous of Alberta

Ancient landscape across the Cretaceous/Paleogene time interval in central Patagonia. Main floristic types from the Danian: Podocarps, Cheirolepidiaceae, palms. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0052455.g007

Iron trapped in Cretaceous limestone, forming tables

Limestone cliff with the stratigraphic stage of Cretaceous Coniacian near the eponym town of Cognac, Charente, Poitou-Charentes, France.

crétacé limestone at Cognac, Charente, SW France

Cretaceous limestone at Cognac, Charente, SW France

Ivy and limestone cliff of Cretaceous Coniacian, Cognac, Charente, France.

Limestone Cretaceous cornices (Coniacian type), valley of the river Voultron; Blanzaguet-Saint-Cybard, Charente, France.

Quarry called “Ratssteinbruch” at Plauenscher Grund (gorge-like valley of the river Weißeritz nearby/in the city of Dresden, Saxony, Germany), Upper Carboniferous Monzonite (historically identified as Syenite) of the Meißen Massif (Paleozoic basement) unconformably overlain by Upper Cenomanian beds of the Dölzschen Formation, yellowish basal conglomerate and overlying bluish silty clay-marlstone (“plenus-Pläner”) of the Saxo-Bohemian Cretaceous Basin (Mesozoic platform).[1]