Mosasaurus was a very ferocious predator that lived in the ocean during the Cretaceous (approximately 155 million years ago). Thus, while the dinosaurs dominated the planet, the Mosasaurus used its enormous tail and limbs to swim through the water, feeding on all kinds of prey with its large jaw and sharp teeth.
These marine reptiles (which belonged to the Mosasaur family) inhabited the ocean at the end of the Cretaceous period. Also, according to the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, they were not marine dinosaurs, but rather a group of reptiles closely related to today’s snakes and lizards. On the other hand, mosasaurs became extinct 65 million years ago in the same mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
What was the size of the mosasaurs?
According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS , one of the largest mosasaurs ever found (named Mosasaurus hoffmanni ) was around 17 meters long in life. However, not all mosasaurs had the same dimensions. For example, the species Xenodens calminechari was about the size of a porpoise.
How did they feed?
Mosasaurs were great predators, so they probably fed on whatever prey they caught. This included fish, sharks, seabirds and even other mosasaurs, as reported by the United States National Park Service. In this way, they could be compared to modern killer whales.
However, according to Live Science , other species of mosasaurs fed on shellfish, as did modern otters. In addition, paleontologists have preserved mosasaur fossils with intact stomach contents, discovering specimens with large fish bones inside.
How did they move through the ocean?
Mosasaurs probably started swimming in the water like snakes or eels. However, the tails evolved over time, eventually having a shark-like tail to propel themselves through the water.
It is also possible that they could perform long strokes , using their forelimbs (which were shaped like a paddle) to control speed and catch their prey.
