Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Mosasaurus (/ ˌ m oʊ z ə ˈ s ɔːr ə s /; "lizard of the Meuse River") is the type genus (defining example) of the mosasaurs, an extinct group of aquatic squamate reptiles.It lived from about 82 to 66 million years ago during the Campanian and Maastrichtian stages of the Late Cretaceous.
The smaller mosasaurs may have spent some time in fresh water, hunting for food. The largest mosasaur Mosasaurus hoffmannii was the apex predator of the Late Cretaceous oceans, reaching more than 11 metres (36 ft) in length and weighing up to 10 metric tons (11 short tons) in body mass. [14]
Preoccupied by a fish, referred to Liodon. Lesticodus. Leidy. 1861. Jr. synonym. Junior synonym of Mosasaurus. Lestosaurus. Marsh. 1872. Jr. synonym. Junior synonym of Platecarpus. Liodon. Agassiz. 1846. Nomen dubium USA Germany New Zealand Angola. Dubious genus due to the fragmentary nature of the type specimen and the type species L. anceps ...
Type species †Mosasaurus hoffmannii. ... Many genera of mosasaurines were either piscivorous or generalists, preying on fish and other marine reptiles, ...
Instead, they primarily relied on stratigraphic associations and Cuvier's 1808 research on the holotype skull. Thus, in-depth research on the placement of Mosasaurus was not undertaken until the discovery of more complete mosasaur fossils during the late 19th century, which reignited research on the placement of mosasaurs among squamates. [8]
The genus contains a single species, J. walhallaensis, known from a nearly-complete skull and partial skeleton. Jormungandr was a medium-sized mosasaur, at around 6–8 metres (20–26 ft) long, and its skeletal anatomy exhibits a mix of features seen in both basal and derived mosasaurines.
An 1854 depiction of Mosasaurus in Crystal Palace Park. One of the earliest paleoart depictions of Mosasaurus is a life-size concrete sculpture constructed by natural history sculptor Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins between 1852 and 1854 as part of the collection of sculptures of prehistoric animals on display at the Crystal Palace Park in London.
Globidens was a relatively medium-sized mosasaur, measuring about 5–6 metres (16–20 ft) long. [2] It was similar in appearance to other mosasaurs, with its streamlined body, flippers , a laterally flattened tail , and powerful jaws .