Mosasaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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Genus: | Mosasaurus
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Mosasaurus (IPA pronunciation: ['mozəˌsɔrʊs]) "lizard of the Meuse" was a genus of mosasaur, a carnivorous, aquatic lizard, somewhat resembling a flippered crocodile, with elongated heavy jaws. The genus 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, with the forelimbs larger than the hindlimbs. 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.