Template:ConvertIPA Mosasaurus (MOH-zah-sawr-us) was a mosasaur, a carnivorous, aquatic reptile, somewhat resembling a crocodile, with elongated heavy jaws: it lived in the Maastrichtian age of the Cretaceous period (Mesozoic era), around 70-65 millions years ago. The name means "Meuse lizard", because it was found in the Meuse River (Latin Mosa + Greek sauros lizard). As with all mosasaurs, their legs and feet are modified into paddle-like flippers. The first mosasaur ever discovered, Mosasaurus hoffmanni, was excavated in a mine near Maastricht, the Netherlands in the 1770s. The beast was later named for the nearby river Meuse.