Place: North America and Europe.
Length: 27-51 feet (8.1-15.5 meters).
Diet: Carnivore.
This was one of the largest marine reptiles of all time!
Description:
Mosasaurus was a prehistoric marine reptile that lived 72-66 million years ago, during the Campanian-Maastricthian of the late Cretaceous period. It lived in North America and Europe. It was 27-51 feet (8.1-15.5 meters), and was one of the top predator of the seas and oceans during its time. The largest species, M. hoffmanni, was 51 feet (15.5 meters) long. It's only enemies were either its own species, or a genus of prehistoric shark called Squalicorax.
It had a cone-shaped head, serpentine-like body, four flippers, and a long tail. At the end of its tail, it had a shark-like (Lindgren et al., 2013) (Bob Yirka, 2013). It, along with other mosasaurs, are descendants of the small terrestrial lizard, Dallasaurus.
Mosasaur Tail Fluke (Bob Yirka, 2013):
Prey:
Mosasaurus hunted an assortment of prey, including sharks like Squalicorax and the predatory fish Xiphactinus, plesiosaurs like Hydrotherosaurus and others, and ammonites.
Links:
Length:
https://psdinosaurs.blogspot.com/2019/07/size-calculations-for-mosasaurs.html
Time:
Campanian:
Takehito Ikejiri (2014):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271528820_Osteology_and_taxonomy_of_Mosasaurus_conodon_Cope_1881_from_the_Late_Cretaceous_of_North_America
Maastrichtian:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271528820_Osteology_and_taxonomy_of_Mosasaurus_conodon_Cope_1881_from_the_Late_Cretaceous_of_North_America
Eric Mulder (1999):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262901771_Transatlantic_latest_Cretaceous_Mosasaurs_Reptilia_Lacertilia_from_the_Maastrichtian_type_area_and_New_Jersey
Harrell and Martin (2014):
Harrell and Martin (2014):
https://geology.rutgers.edu/images/stories/faculty/miller_kenneth_g/kgmpdf/12-Gallagher.GeolFrance.pdf
James E. Martin (2006):
"Abstract":
https://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/258/1/101
Full Text:
James E. Martin (2006):
"Abstract":
https://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/258/1/101
Full Text:
International Chronostratigraphic Chart (2020):
International Commission of Stratigraphy Website:
Tail Fin:
Lindgren et al., (2013):
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3423
Bob Yirka (2013):
https://phys.org/news/2013-09-mosasaur-fossil-early-lizards-tails.html
Locations:Lindgren et al., (2013):
https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms3423
Bob Yirka (2013):
https://phys.org/news/2013-09-mosasaur-fossil-early-lizards-tails.html
North America:
Oceans of Kansas:
http://oceansofkansas.com/mus-mosa.html
Link 2:
http://oceansofkansas.com/Goldfuss.html
Europe:
Grigoriev (2014):
https://www.zin.ru/journals/trudyzin/doc/vol_318_2/TZ_318_2_Grigoriev.pdf
Dallasaurus:
Bell Jr. and Polcyn (2005):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/27711031_Dallasaurus_turneri_a_new_primitive_mosasauroid_from_the_Middle_Turonian_of_Texas_and_comments_on_the_phylogeny_of_Mosasauridae_Squamata
ScienceDaily (2005):
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/11/051116173945.htm
Prey:
Squalicorax:
Becker and Chamberlain, Jr. (2012):
https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3263/2/2/109/htm
Cretaceous Atlas of Ancient Life:
https://www.cretaceousatlas.org/species/squalicorax-pristodontus/
Xiphactinus:
Schwimmer et al., (1997):
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4523841?seq=1
Oceans of Kansas:
http://oceansofkansas.com/xiphac.html
Fossilworks:
http://fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=35308
Hydrotherosaurus and Other Plesiosaurs:
Hydrotherosaurus:
Sven Sachs (2005):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262439623_Remarks_on_the_pectoral_girdle_of_Hydrotherosaurus_alexandrae_Plesiosauria_Elasmosauridae
Fossilworks:
http://fossilworks.org/?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=199239
Elasmosaurus and Styxosaurus:
Kenneth Carpenter (1999) (Pg. 150 and 152; 158):
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kenneth_Carpenter3/publication/40662805_Revision_of_North_American_elasmosaurs_from_the_Cretaceous_of_the_Western_Interior/links/58c6e534a6fdccde55e3aec8/Revision-of-North-American-elasmosaurs-from-the-Cretaceous-of-the-Western-Interior.pdf
Fossilworks (Elasmosaurus):
http://fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=36469
Fossilworks (Styxosaurus):
http://fossilworks.org/bridge.pl?a=taxonInfo&taxon_no=36516
Ammonites:
Kennedy et al., (2001):
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667101902459
Ifrim et al., (2005):
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/28080987_Maastrichtian_shallow-water_ammonites_of_northeastern_Mexico