Moanasaurus

Moanasaurus (From Māori moana "sea" and Greek sauros "lizard"; meaning "Sea Lizard") was a genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossil remains have been discovered in the North Island of New Zealand. Moanasaurus was a very large mosasaurine known originally from a disarticulated skull, vertebrae, ribs and flipper bones. The skull measures 78 cm (31 in) in length, which shows that Moanasaurus was one of the largest in the subfamily of Mosasaurinae. Researchers argue that some Antarctic Mosasaurus remains (including a "large, fragmentary skull") may be attributed to this genus.

Moanasaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
Life restoration
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Mosasauria
Superfamily: Mosasauroidea
Family: Mosasauridae
Tribe: Mosasaurini
Genus: Moanasaurus
Wiffen, 1980
Species
  • M. mangahouangae (type)
    Wiffen, 1980
Synonyms
  • Rikisaurus tehoensis
    Wiffen, 1990
  • Mosasaurus flemingi
    Wiffen, 1990
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