Science Lab – Mosasaur<\/h3>\n

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Well done for completing the Fossil Dig in the Interactive Zone<\/a> and now it’s time to learn from more about Dinosaurs and Prehistoric creatures here in the Lab.<\/p>\n

So what was the fossil we discovered? Let’s look at the data here.<\/p>\n

Name:<\/strong>\u00a0Mosasaur (pronunciation: “moh-suh-sawr”) – it means\u00a0“Lizard of the Meuse River”<\/u>
\n‘Mosa’ stands for the Meuse river in Holland – the location where mosasaurs were first described.
\n‘Saur’ (Sauros) is greek for lizard.<\/p>\n

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Taxonomy:<\/strong>\u00a0Class: Reptilia – Order: Squamata – Superfamily: Mosasauroidea – Family: Mosasauridae
\nSubfamilies: Halisaurine, Mosasaurinae, Plioplatecarpinae, Tylosaurinae<\/p>\n

Mosasaurs\u00a0ARE NOT DINOSAURS<\/strong>. They are reptiles and are closely related to snakes and monitor lizards.<\/p>\n

Age:<\/strong>\u00a0Cretaceous<\/u>
\nMosasaurs went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous during the end Cretaceous mass extinction event.<\/p>\n

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Discovery:<\/strong>\u00a0Holland, 1764<\/u>The first described mosasaur fossils were found in a limestone quarry on the Meuse River in Holland in 1764.<\/p>\n

Native Americans in the Midwest U.S. had found mosasaur fossils long before the first described fossils. They drew images of them, thought the fossils had special powers, and may have thought they were the remains of the mythological beings Wakinyan (Thunder beings) and Unktehila (Water monsters).<\/p>\n

Distribution:\u00a0<\/strong>Nearly Global:<\/u>
\nMosasaurs lived in the seas during the Cretaceous. Fossils are found in Cretaceous rock units on almost every continent from North and South America, to Europe, Asia, and Australia. In Hungary, A freshwater Mosasaur has even been found!<\/p>\n

Body Size:\u00a0<\/strong>3 to 50 feet<\/u>
\nSome, such as Dallasaurus were only 3 feet in length. While others, like Tylosaurus, grew up to 50 feet in length.
\nMost mosasaurs were over 10 feet in length.<\/p>\n

Diet:\u00a0<\/strong>Anything!<\/u>
\nStomach contents of mosasaurs reveal ammonites, bony fish, sea turtles, plesiosaurs, and even sea birds!
\nIt appears they could eat whatever they wanted.<\/p>\n

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Physical Appearance:<\/strong>
\nMosasaurs were sleek, streamlined, and fast! They had flipper like paddles for arms and legs and a tail fin. They propelled themselves by mianly moving the large fin on their tail in a side to side motion. Mosasaurs were also covered in smooth scales which were very dark in color.<\/p>\n

Snake-Like:<\/strong>
\nSimilar to snakes, Mosasaurs had jaws could expand to help swallow large whole prey. Also, like a snake, mosasaurs had two sets of teeth in their upper jaws. This second set was smaller and set further back in the jaw. These teeth would help hold on to struggling prey as the animal swallowed it whole.<\/p>\n

They Breathed Air:<\/strong>
\nAlthough mosasaurs were aquatic, they were reptiles, which means they had to surface to breathe air, like Crcocodile or Marine Iguana today.<\/p>\n

Live Birth:<\/strong>
\nA 2015 study found that Mosasaurs gave live birth in the open ocean.<\/p>\n

Want to know more? Read on below!<\/p>\n

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dino-safari-park<\/a><\/div>\n