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The word Mosasaur is derived from both Latin (mosa-the "mouse river") and Greek (saurus-lizard). Mosasaurs looked similar to crocodiles, but with flippers instead of legs and feet. Based on skull features, Mosasaurs are related to snakes. They were air breathers and lived and hunted in shallower waters. Their food likely consisted of ammonites, fish, turtles and other animals, usually smaller than themselves. They swam by undulating their long bodies. Their flippers were probably used for steering and less for locomotion. They reached lengths of about 50 feet. The mouth was about four feet long.
They lived during the Maastrichtian Age of the Late Cretaceous Period (70 million years ago). Specimen is from the Phosphate Beds, Khourigba, Morocco.
Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Reptilia, Order: Squamata, Family: Mosasauridae, Genus: Mosasaurus, Species: beaugi.
Mosasaur beaugei
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