Mosasaurus

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iMosasaurus
Fossil range: Late Cretaceous

Mosasaurus hoffmanni and Globidens aegypticus

Conservation status

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertilia
Family:	Mosasauridae
Genus:	Mosasaurus

Species

M. copeanus
M. crassidens
M. hoffmanni
M. meirsii
M. princeps

Mosasaurus (IPA pronunciation: ['mozəˌsɔrʊs]) "lizard of the Meuse" was a genus of mosasaur, a carnivorous, aquatic lizard, somewhat resembling a flippered crocodile, with elongated heavy jaws. The genus lived in the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period (Mesozoic era), around 70-65 millions years ago. The name means "Meuse lizard", because it was found in the Meuse River (Latin Mosa + Greek sauros lizard). As with all mosasaurs, their legs and feet are modified into paddle-like flippers, with the forelimbs larger than the hindlimbs. The first mosasaur ever discovered, Mosasaurus hoffmanni, was excavated in a mine near Maastricht, the Netherlands in the 1770s. The beast was later named for the nearby river Meuse. Like its relatives Tylosaurus and Hainosaurus, Mosasaurus reached lengths of about 15 metres. However, Mosasaurus was much more robust than its relatives, at some double the weight of a mosasaur of the same length; a 10m mosasaurus was as heavy as a 15m tylosaurus

Mosasaurus was among the last mosasaur genera, and among the largest, being smaller and shorter than only Tylosaurus and Hainosaurus. The skull was more robustly built than other mosasaurs, as the mandibles articulated very tightly with the skull. It had a deep, barrel-shaped body, and with its fairly large eyes, poor binocular vision, and poorly developed olfactory bulbs, experts believe that Mosasaurus lived near the ocean surface, where it preyed on fish, turtles, ammonites, and possibly smaller mosasaurs. Because of its robust skull and tightly articulating jaws, Mosasaurus was unable to swallow prey-items whole in the manner of earlier mosasaurs, like Tylosaurus. Instead, with the aid of its curved, knife-like teeth, Mosasaurus was able to tear its prey into more manageable pieces that could be more easily swallowed.