Moanasaurus

Moanasaurus (From Māori moana "sea" and Greek sauros "lizard"; meaning "Sea Lizard") was a genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossil remains have been discovered in the North Island of New Zealand. Moanasaurus was a very large mosasaurine known originally from a disarticulated skull, vertebrae, ribs and flipper bones. The skull measures 78 cm (31 in) in length, which shows that Moanasaurus was one of the largest in the subfamily of Mosasaurinae.[1] Researchers argue that some Antarctic Mosasaurus remains (including a "large, fragmentaery skull") may be attributed to this genus.[2] Gregory S. Paul estimated its maximum adult size at 12 metres (39 ft) in length and 4 metric tons (4.4 short tons) in body mass.[3]

Moanasaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Superfamily: †Mosasauroidea
Family: †Mosasauridae
Tribe: †Mosasaurini
Genus: †Moanasaurus
Wiffen, 1980
Species
  • M. mangahouangae (type)
    Wiffen, 1980
Synonyms
  • Rikisaurus tehoensis
    Wiffen, 1990
  • Mosasaurus flemingi
    Wiffen, 1990

See also

References
  1. Wiffen, J. (1980). "Moanasaurus, a new genus of marine reptile (Family Mosasauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of North Island, New Zealand". New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics. 23 (4): 507–528. doi:10.1080/00288306.1980.10424122.
  2. Martin, J.E. (2007). "Biostratigraphy of the Mosasauridae (Reptilia) from the Cretaceous of Antarctica". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 258 (1): 101–108. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.2006.258.01.07. S2CID 128604544.
  3. Paul, Gregory S. (2022). The Princeton Field Guide to Mesozoic Sea Reptiles. Princeton University Press. p. 175. ISBN 9780691193809.
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