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. Like its relatives Tylosaurus and Hainosaurus Mosasaurus reached lengths of about 15 metres.