Marine reptile
Mosasaurus
Mosasaur
Mosasaurus is the type genus of the mosasaurs, the giant marine lizards of the Late Cretaceous; M. hoffmannii from Maastricht, M. beaugei from the Moroccan phosphates and M. missouriensis from the Pierre Shale are the species collectors meet. Moroccan Mosasaurus teeth are the most common marine reptile fossil in trade: bicarinate, slightly recurved crowns with prismatic facets. Jaws and skulls from Khouribga are notorious for composite construction and sculpted matrix.
| Phylum | Chordata |
|---|---|
| Class | Reptilia |
| Order | Squamata |
| Family | Mosasauridae |
| Group | Marine reptile |
| Size | to 15 m |
| Rank (PBDB) | genus· Paleobiology Database |
| Author | Parkinson 1822· Paleobiology Database |
| Classification (PBDB) | Chordata › Reptilia › Squamata › Mosasauridae· Paleobiology Database |
| Range (PBDB) | 100–61.7 Ma· Paleobiology Database |
| PBDB occurrences | 130· Paleobiology Database |
Restoration and fakes
Assume Moroccan jaw sections are composites unless the seller can show the block before prep. Individual teeth often have resin roots or repaired tips; UV shows the joins.
Photographs
Elsewhere
- GBIF: 4819769
- PBDB: 36402
- Wikidata: Q312131
- PBDB taxon page
- Wikipedia: Mosasaurus
- PBDB search: Mosasaurus
Cite this article
Stratum Study. "Mosasaurus" (Taxon). Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19. https://stratum.black/study/taxa/mosasaurus. Accessed 2026-09-20.
@misc{stratum-mosasaurus,
title = {Mosasaurus},
author = {{Stratum Study}},
howpublished = {\url{https://stratum.black/study/taxa/mosasaurus}},
year = {2026},
note = {Taxon article, Stratum Study pack 2026.09, as of 2026-09-19; sources: stratum, pbdb, wikidata, commons, nhm. Accessed 2026-09-20.}
} Citations carry the pack version and the article's as-of date so they resolve to the same text later. The facts themselves belong to the sources listed below; cite those for the science.