paleonet Re: Mosasaur pathology

[Mike Everhart <mike@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ken Carpenter wrote:
> 
> My 2 cents: Although the openings do appear to be pathological, the absence of reactive bone around the openings is puzzling if these are pus sinuses. Could these be invertebrate borings when the bones lay on the seafloor? Probably not because the bone does seem to be depressed around the openings. Two of them appear to be ovoid and have a slight elongation suggestive of a tooth carinae. I vote tooth damage.
___________________________________________________
After receiving Ken's reply I did a little more preparation on the
specimen and discovered that the cavity under the openings in the bone
is much larger than I originally had thought.... and may have extended
into the missing piece of the articular.

My apologies for not providing this information earlier... I've added
two new pictures to the web page at:
< http://www.oceansofkansas.com/mosapath.html >

Mike Everhart