The Maastrichtian type area (Netherlands–Belgium): a synthesis of 250+ years of collecting and ongoing progress in Upper Cretaceous stratigraphy and palaeontology

Cretaceous limestones near Maastricht (south-east Netherlands) have been quarried at least since Roman times. In the late eighteenth century, scientific interest developed in their macrofossil content and specimens were illustrated for the first time. Amongst the early discoveries was a partial skull of a large predatory vertebrate that would play an important role in the emergence of modern palaeontology and our understanding of the concept of extinction. After decades of scientific debate, this animal was recognised as a large extinct marine relative of monitor lizards (varanoids) and named... Mehr ...