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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]
Often, the formally published name will differ from any nomina nuda that describe the same specimen. In this case, these nomina nuda will be deleted from this list in favor of the published name. Preoccupied name: A name that is formally published, but which has already been used for another taxon. This second use is invalid (as are all ...
Type species †Mosasaurus hoffmannii. ... Many genera of mosasaurines were either piscivorous or generalists, preying on fish and other marine reptiles, ...
Tylosaurs were among the largest mosasaurs, with some species of Tylosaurus and Hainosaurus reaching lengths of 9-12+ meters, making them among the largest of all marine reptiles. Russell (1967, pp. 170 [11]) defined the Tylosaurinae as follows: "Large rostrum present anterior to premaxillary teeth. Twelve or more teeth in dentary and maxilla.
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]
In addition to these species, isolated teeth from various locations, including Poland, the Netherlands and Morocco, have also been assigned to Liodon in the past. [6] In 1952, Camille Arambourg assigned isolated fossil teeth discovered in the Maastrichtian-age phosphates of Morocco to Mosasaurus (Leiodon) cf. anceps.
MNHN 9587 was originally assessed as 'Ichtyosaurus missouriensis', [7] while RFWUIP 1327 was described as 'Mosasaurus maximiliani'. [8] Later both specimens were confirmed to belong to the same individual and the species name was established. Skull of Mosasaurus missouriensis holotype RFWUIP 1327 with a cast of MNHN 9587. Sarabosaurus dahli ...