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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.
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]
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 ...
Mosasaurs are the largest-known squamates. 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]
The specific placement of Mosasauria within the Squamata has been controversial since its inception, with early debate focusing on the classification of the mosasaurs. Cuvier was the first scientist to deeply analyze their possible taxonomic placement through Mosasaurus. While his original 1808 hypothesis that the genus was a lizard with ...
A new species of mosasaur — Jormungandr walhallaensis — is unusual, displaying a mix of traits from other creatures of its kind. Challenging what’s known about these ancient giants, it could ...
The Mosasaurinae are a subfamily of mosasaurs, a diverse group of Late Cretaceous marine squamates.Members of the subfamily are informally and collectively known as "mosasaurines" and their fossils have been recovered from every continent except for South America.
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.