Moanasaurus

Moanasaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Infraphylum:	Gnathostomata
Class:	Sauropsida
Subclass:	Diapsida
Infraclass:	Lepidosauromorpha
Superorder:	Lepidosauria
Order:	Squamata
Family:	Mosasauridae
Subfamily:	Mosasaurinae
Genus:	Moanasaurus Wiffen, 1980
Species
M. mangahouangae (type) Wiffen, 1980
Synonyms
Rikisaurus tehoensis Wiffen, 1990 Mosasaurus flemingi Wiffen, 1990

Moanasaurus (From Māori moana "sea" and Greek sauros "lizard"; meaning "Sea Lizard") was a genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossil remains have been discovered in the North Island of New Zealand. Moanasaurus was a very large mosasaurine known originally from a disarticulated skull, vertebrae, ribs and paddle bones. It reached 12 m in length and the skull is 78 cm, which shows that Moanasaurus was one of the largest in the family of mosasaurinae.