Mosasaurus
Moe-za-sore-usName meaning: Lizard of the Meuse River
Time Period: Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous)
Locations: Western Europe/North America possibly Antarctica
Taxonomy: Reptilia-Mosasauridae-Mosasaurini
Subspecies: M. hoffmannii M. missouriensis M. conodon M. lemonnieri M. beaugei
Characteristics ~ ~ ~ ~
Mosasaurus is to the ocean what Tyrannosaurus Rex is on Land. At 42 feet long and a weight of 5.5 metric tons. Mosasaurus has 3 different sets of teeth. One set being pterygoid teeth on the roof of its mouth under gums to push prey down quickly like snakes along with a hinge point on the lower jaw that allowed them to open their jaws wide. But unlike snakes they were widely built, having a massive rib cage to support large lungs. When performing a sea start: a technique fish use by bending themselves into a C to quickly accelerate, Mosasaurus can go from 0 to 30 mph within a single second. Mosasaurus had a reverse tail fluke with the bone bending downwards. 2 sets of flippers with the front pair being larger. Mossasaur size debates of a largest individual size
History & Fossils ~ ~ ~ ~
The first mosasaurus was a partial skull found all the way back in 1764 although the idea that it was a marine reptile wasn't thought of until around 1809 and the animal wasn't named till 1822. It’s still remarkably old with the first dinosaur Megalosaurus not being named until 1824 for reference Darwin's theory of evolution not being published until 1859.
Media Deptictions
Jurassic World Mosasaurus is the movie series one and only marine reptile. Kept in the lagoon at the center of Jurassic World until later retconned to be right next to the ocean. The Mossasaurus changes size almost every time it is on screen some appearances make it look to be 150 ft+ but most appearances of it appear to be around 80ft.
Prehistoric Planet