Mosasaurs were a cosmopolitan group of marine squamate reptiles that lived during the Late Cretaceous period. Tylosaurinae mosasaurs were characterized for having an edentulous rostrum anterior to the premaxillary teeth. External morphology of the snout of the tylosaurine Taniwhasaurus antarcticus from the Upper Cretaceous beds at James Ross Island (Antarctic Peninsula) shows a complex anatomy with diverse large foramina and bone sculpture. A computed tomography scan of the Taniwhasaurus rostrum revealed a complex internal neurovascular system of branched channels in the anteriormost part of the snout. Systems like this are present in extant aquatic vertebrates such as cetaceans and crocodiles to aid them with prey detection, and are inferred to have functioned in a similar manner for several extinct reptile clades such as plesiosaurs and ichthyosaurs. Thus, it is probable that Taniwhasaurus also was able to detect prey with an enhanced neural system located in its rostrum. This condition may be more widespread than previously thought among mosasaurs and other marine reptiles.

中文翻译：

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南极mosaniur Taniwhasaurus的一个鼻部神经血管系统。

Mosasaurs是一群生活在白垩纪晚期的世界性海洋鳞状爬行动物。tylosaurinae mosasaurs的特征是在上颌前牙前有一个无牙的讲台。来自詹姆斯·罗斯岛（南极半岛）上白垩纪河床的泰牛龙Taniwhasaurus南极人的鼻子的外部形态显示出复杂的解剖结构，具有多样的大孔和骨雕塑。Taniwhasaurus的计算机断层扫描讲台上显示出一个最复杂的内部神经血管系统，它位于口鼻部的最前面。像这样的系统存在于现存的水生脊椎动物中，例如鲸类和鳄类，以帮助它们进行猎物检测，并且据推断，它们对于几种灭绝的爬行类进化类（如蛇颈龙和鱼龙）具有类似的功能。因此，Taniwhasaurus可能还能够通过位于其讲台上的增强型神经系统来检测猎物。这种情况可能比以前认为的更普遍，在mosasaurs和其他海洋爬行动物中。