Puncture-and-Pull Biomechanics in the Teeth of Predatory Coelurosaurian Dinosaurs.

The teeth of putatively carnivorous dinosaurs are often blade-shaped with well-defined serrated cutting edges (Figure 1). These ziphodont teeth are often easily differentiated based on the morphology and density of the denticles [1, 2]. A tearing function has been proposed for theropod denticles in general [3], but the functional significance of denticle phenotypic variation has received less attention.

Revision of the Late Jurassic teleosaurid genus Machimosaurus (Crocodylomorpha, Thalattosuchia).

Machimosaurus was a large-bodied genus of teleosaurid crocodylomorph, considered to have been durophagous/chelonivorous, and which frequented coastal marine/estuarine ecosystems during the Late Jurassic. Here, we revise the genus based on previously described specimens and revise the species within this genus. We conclude that there were three European Machimosaurus species and another taxon in Ethiopia.

The cranial osteology and feeding ecology of the metriorhynchid crocodylomorph genera Dakosaurus and Plesiosuchus from the late Jurassic of Europe.

Background: Dakosaurus and Plesiosuchus are characteristic genera of aquatic, large-bodied, macrophagous metriorhynchid crocodylomorphs. Recent studies show that these genera were apex predators in marine ecosystems during the latter part of the Late Jurassic, with robust skulls and strong bite forces optimized for feeding on large prey.

Methodology/principal Findings: Here we present comprehensive osteological descriptions and systematic revisions of the type species of both genera, and in doing so we resurrect the genus Plesiosuchus for the species Dakosaurus manselii.