# Mosasaurus (Mosasaurus hoffmannii) — DinoLand

> Field Journal — free dinosaur encyclopedia: 33 species with photos and video, catalog, ancient world maps (Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Gondwana), quiz, and paleontology glossary.

### id=27: Mosasaurus (Mosasaurus hoffmannii)

- URL: https://www.dinoland.ai/species.html?lang=en&id=27
- Diet: Aquatic
- Era: Cretaceous
- Period: 70–66 million years ago
- Length: 17 m
- Weight: ≈15 t
- Height: —
- Speed: до 30 km/h in water
- Habitat: Shallow chalk seas, continental shelves, and estuaries
- Region: Europe; Atlantic margins of North America
- Discovered: 1764, quarry near Maastricht, Netherlands

Fact: “Ruler of Maastrichtian seas—yet still a squamate, not a dinosaur.”

Description: Mosasaurus represents derived mosasaurine lizards that achieved macropredatory dominance in latest Cretaceous epicontinental seas. A deep tail supporting a crescentic fluke, palatal teeth, and kinetic skull joints enabled ambush strikes on ammonites, plesiosaurs, and other marine reptiles. Secondarily aquatic adaptations converged on ichthyosaurs despite very different ancestral bauplans.

Features:
  - Length estimates approach ~17 m for outsized individuals
  - Pterygoid teeth helped ratchet struggling prey backward
  - Propulsive tail flukes mirror sharks in cross-section

Related genera: Plesiosaurus, Ichthyosaurus, Tylosaurus


## Citation

Field Journal — Dinosaur Encyclopedia — https://www.dinoland.ai

Web: https://www.dinoland.ai/species.html?lang=en&id=27
Index: https://www.dinoland.ai/llms-en.txt