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Mosasaurus fossils have been found in North and South America, Europe, Africa, Western Asia, and Antarctica. This distribution encompassed a wide range of oceanic climates including tropical, subtropical, temperate, and subpolar. Mosasaurus was a common large predator in these oceans and was positioned at the top of the food chain.
In life, the animal would have measured about 24 feet (7.3 meters) long and had a long face slimmer than those of its mosasaur cousins, said lead study author Amelia Zietlow, a paleontologist and ...
The largest-known mosasaur is likely Mosasaurus hoffmanni, estimated at more than 17 m (56 ft) in length, [257] [258] however these estimations are based on heads and total body length ratio 1:10, which is unlikely for Mosasaurus, and probably that ratio is about 1:7. [259]
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]
Megapterygius is a medium-sized mosasaur with an estimated skull length of 0.8 metres (2.6 ft) and a body length of approximately 6 metres (20 ft). Both the front and hind flippers are longer than the skull.
Mosasaurus hoffmanni was the largest squamate lizard to have ever lived, with a length of 11 meters (36 ft) and a body mass of 10 metric tons (11 short tons) [90] However, the largest reptiles, period, were the shastasaurids, specifically Ichthyotitan, which approached lengths rivalling to exceeding those of a blue whale, at around 26–35 m ...
The most complete specimen of the animal is a partial skeleton (MGUAN PA 183D), including parts of the skull and mandibles, alongside a number of vertebrae and ribs.. This specimen is estimated to have been 3-3.7 metres long in life, and was found as part of the gut contents of a 6.5-7 metre Prognathodon kianda, alongside a 4 metre Gavialimimus sp. and a 4.6 metre cannibalized subadult ...
Among them, he describes a mosasaur taxon under the name Mosasaurus cf. anceps, based on numerous fossil teeth of different morphologies. [2]: 279–282 It is now accepted that the smaller, slender teeth formerly referred to this taxon actually belong to Eremiasaurus, while the larger ones would likely have belonged to Thalassotitan.