Illustration of the partial left humerus of the holotype specimen
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Clade:
†Mosasauria
Family:
†Mosasauridae
Clade:
†Russellosaurina
Subfamily:
†Tylosaurinae (?)
Genus:
†Kaikaifilu Otero et al. 2017
Species:
†K. hervei
Binomial name
†Kaikaifilu hervei
Otero et al. 2017
Kaikaifilu is an extinct genus of large mosasaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) in what is now northern Antarctica. The only species known, K. hervei, was described in 2017 from an incomplete specimen discovered in the López de Bertodano Formation, in Seymour Island, Antarctic Peninsula. The taxon is named in reference to Coi Coi-Vilu, a reptilian ocean deity of the Mapuche cosmology. Early observations of the holotype classify it as a member of the subfamily Tylosaurinae. However, later observations note that several characteristics show that this attribution is problematic.
Reconstructions of the skull length of the holotype specimen are estimated at 1.1–1.2 m (43–47 in). The maximum size would be approximately 10 m (33 ft) long, making Kaikaifilu the largest mosasaur identified in the Southern Hemisphere, as well as one of the largest tylosaurines known to date, if its attribution to this group remains valid. One of the distinguishing characteristics of this taxon is that it has well-marked heterodont dentition, a trait not found in other tylosaurines.
The fossil record shows that the animal lived in cold waters where temperatures may have dropped below freezing. The López de Bertodano Formation, from which Kaikaifilu is known, shows the presence of other aquatic vertebrates, including fish, plesiosaurs and also other mosasaurs. Dating to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, Kaikaifilu is one of the last known mosasaurs.
Kaikaifilu is an extinct genus of large mosasaurs that lived during the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) in what is now northern Antarctica. The only species...
America. The subfamily includes the genera Tylosaurus, Taniwhasaurus, and Kaikaifilu, although some scientists argue that only Tylosaurus and Taniwhasaurus...
including Plioplatecarpus, the mosasaurines Moanasaurus and Liodon, and Kaikaifilu. The validity of some of these genera is disputed as they are primarily...
an elaborate mating display. A pregnant Tuarangisaurus is targeted by Kaikaifilu and protected by her pod, after which she gives birth to a healthy baby...
Tylosaurinae. Other members of this group include Taniwhasaurus and possibly Kaikaifilu, and the subfamily is defined by a shared feature of an elongated premaxillary...
of this subfamily, including the related genus Tylosaurus and possibly Kaikaifilu, are characterized by a conical, elongated rostrum that lacks teeth. In...
mosasaurs. †Igdamanosaurus †Igdamanosaurus aegyptiacus 70–65 Ma Egypt †Kaikaifilu †Kaikaifilu hervei 66 MA Lopez de Bertodano Formation, Seymour Island, Antarctica...
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