In Depth Mosasaurs appear to have been some of the most common marine reptiles around New Zealand towards the end of the Cretaceous, and at up to twelve meters long, Moanasaurus was towards the larger end of the mosasaur size scale. Given its large size it’s a safe bet that Moanasaurus would have been a … Read more
In Depth Selmasaurus is unusual amongst mosasaurs because it has an akinetic skull, which means that its jaws were incapable of widening to swallow larger prey. This strongly suggests that Selmasaurus restricted itself to small prey species that were easily swallowed. This would infer behaviour similar to other plioplatecarpine mosasaurs such as Platecarpus and Plioplatecarpus … Read more
In Depth Research into Platecarpus has arguably advanced our understanding of the mosasaurs more than any other genera, part of this being down to the number of known Platecarpus fossils. Some of these specimens of Platecarpus are so well preserved that they actually reveal impression of soft tissues of body parts like the internal organs. … Read more
In Depth Fossils of Eonatator were originally assigned to the genus Clidastes and then later still to the genus Halisaurus. Eventually Eonatator was established as a distinct genus in 2005 and today is regarded as a halisaurine mosasaur. Eonatator was relatively small when compared to other mosasaurs, but the simple fact fossils for Eonatator range … Read more
In Depth Originally named as a species of Mosasaurus, Goronyosaurus was a medium sized mosasaur that lived in the waters of Africa. So far fossils of Goronyosaurus have been found in Niger and Nigeria. The key thing here is that Niger is a land locked country, so this may actually be an indicator that Goronyosaurus … Read more
In Depth Plesiotylosaurus acquired its name for its similarity to another genus of mosasaur called Tylosaurus, one of the largest mosasaurs known. The jaws of Plesiotylosaurus are quite long and attached to a solid robust skull, something that suggests a prey preference for tougher animals. Possible candidates could include marine turtles which are known from … Read more
In Depth The sheer expanse of Plioplatecarpus remains in both Europe and North America indicate that this mosasaur was a predator that frequented the open ocean, and was not restricted to just hunting in shallow waters like some smaller mosasaurs have been presumed to have been. Additionally Plioplatecarpus had proportionately larger eyes than other mosasaurs … Read more
In Depth Kourisodon was first described from fossil remains discovered in British Columbia, though since this time more partial remains from Japan have been attributed to the genus. Not only does this significantly expand upon the known geographical range of Kourisodon, but it indicates that Kourisodon existed from the Santonian of the Canadian deposits, all … Read more
In Depth Whereas mosasaurs are usually represented by the larger forms such as Mosasaurus hunting and killing other marine reptiles, Yaguarasaurus as a plioplatercarpine would have used speed to hunt smaller and faster prey such as fish. To date even though the fossil material for Yaguarasaurus is largely incomplete, it still remains one of the … Read more
In Depth Although first discovered in Angola, it’s entirely plausible that Angolasaurus had a wider distribution since it was a marine creature and had the freedom of the ocean to travel. As a plioplatecarpine mosasaur, Angolasaurus is considered to be related to Platecarpus, Plioplatecarpus and Selmasaurus amongst others. Further Reading – O Neocretacio e o … Read more