Mosasauridae

Mosasaurs are an extinct group of large aquatic reptiles within the family Mosasauridae that lived during the Late Cretaceous. Their first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764. They belong to the order Squamata, which includes lizards and snakes.

Mosasauridae

MCDinosaurhunter · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
mosasaurPBDB
Sits inside
SquamataPBDB
Diet
carnivorePBDB
Life habit
aquaticPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Vision
well-developedPBDB
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Amniota

Time the record covers

At least 21 million years on record.

The record covers at least 93.9 Mya to 72.2 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 143.1 Mya to 56 Mya.

Late Jurassic — about 0 of 849 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 3 of 849 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 843 of 849 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 3 of 849 occurrencesPaleoceneEocene — about 0 of 849 occurrences145–142 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences142–139 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences139–136 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences136–133 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences133–130 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences130–127 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences127–124 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences124–121 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences121–118 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences118–115 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences115–112 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences112–109 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences109–106 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences106–103 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences103–100 Mya — about 2 occurrences100–97 Mya — about 7 occurrences97–94 Mya — about 9 occurrences94–90 Mya — about 28 occurrences90–87 Mya — about 37 occurrences87–84 Mya — about 55 occurrences84–81 Mya — about 82 occurrences81–78 Mya — about 84 occurrences78–75 Mya — about 84 occurrences75–72 Mya — about 84 occurrences72–69 Mya — about 172 occurrences69–66 Mya — about 178 occurrences66–63 Mya — about 22 occurrences63–60 Mya — about 1 occurrence60–57 Mya — about 0.2 occurrences57–54 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences93.9 Mya72.2 Mya145 Mya54 Mya

849 occurrences of Mosasauridae on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

849 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

176 formations

Niobrara — 38.95°N, 100.48°WNiobrara — 38.88°N, 99.33°WNiobrara — 38.82°N, 100.18°WNiobrara — 38.48°N, 100.90°WNiobrara — 38.72°N, 100.70°WNiobrara — 38.72°N, 100.45°WNiobrara — 38.00°N, 100.00°WNiobrara — 38.00°N, 100.25°WNiobrara — 39.02°N, 99.45°WNiobrara — 38.77°N, 100.90°WNiobrara — 48.63°N, 98.04°WNiobrara — 37.47°N, 104.62°WNiobrara — 43.04°N, 97.26°WNiobrara — 39.23°N, 99.30°WNiobrara — 38.90°N, 100.10°WNiobrara — 39.35°N, 99.83°WNiobrara — 39.00°N, 99.50°WNiobrara — 38.90°N, 101.10°WNiobrara — 38.83°N, 100.12°WNiobrara — 38.75°N, 100.21°WNiobrara — 39.12°N, 100.02°WNiobrara — 38.92°N, 100.33°WNiobrara — 38.88°N, 97.37°WNiobrara — 38.84°N, 100.96°WNiobrara — 43.41°N, 103.31°WNiobrara — 39.65°N, 99.22°WNiobrara — 38.79°N, 100.76°WPierre Shale — 44.00°N, 103.25°WPierre Shale — 43.31°N, 104.22°WPierre Shale — 42.84°N, 97.85°WPierre Shale — 46.22°N, 109.68°WPierre Shale — 43.02°N, 98.62°WPierre Shale — 43.27°N, 103.85°WPierre Shale — 43.46°N, 103.31°WPierre Shale — 43.29°N, 104.11°WPierre Shale — 42.87°N, 97.38°WPierre Shale — 43.26°N, 104.34°WPierre Shale — 43.58°N, 103.20°WPierre Shale — 38.77°N, 101.41°WPierre Shale — 43.19°N, 103.78°WPierre Shale — 44.47°N, 100.41°WPierre Shale — 38.88°N, 101.59°WPierre Shale — 44.08°N, 99.67°WPierre Shale — 45.85°N, 98.71°WPierre Shale — 43.53°N, 103.05°WPierre Shale — 43.47°N, 102.75°WPierre Shale — 43.50°N, 103.96°WPierre Shale — 43.20°N, 99.18°WPierre Shale — 44.19°N, 99.70°WPierre Shale — 39.01°N, 101.37°WPierre Shale — 47.36°N, 97.99°WPierre Shale — 48.98°N, 98.46°WPierre Shale — 37.18°N, 104.49°WPierre Shale — 39.91°N, 101.94°WNavesink — 39.76°N, 75.13°WNavesink — 40.31°N, 74.22°WNavesink — 39.95°N, 74.79°WNavesink — 40.40°N, 74.03°WNavesink — 40.22°N, 74.30°WNavesink — 39.97°N, 74.68°WNavesink — 40.35°N, 74.10°WNavesink — 40.38°N, 74.21°WSevern — 38.91°N, 76.86°WSevern — 38.91°N, 76.85°WSevern — 38.77°N, 76.98°WSevern — 38.96°N, 76.71°WCouche III — 32.88°N, 6.62°WCouche III — 32.83°N, 6.23°WCouche III — 32.77°N, 6.79°WMoreno — 37.22°N, 121.12°WMoreno — 36.50°N, 120.69°WMoreno — 36.25°N, 120.63°WMoreno — 36.70°N, 120.75°WMoreno — 36.72°N, 120.72°WLópez de Bertodano — 64.27°S, 56.72°WLópez de Bertodano — 64.28°S, 56.81°WLópez de Bertodano — 64.25°S, 56.79°WLópez de Bertodano — 63.88°S, 57.58°WHornerstown — 39.76°N, 75.13°WHornerstown — 40.12°N, 74.55°WHornerstown — 39.97°N, 74.68°WHornerstown — 39.76°N, 75.16°WMooreville Chalk — 32.91°N, 87.99°WMooreville Chalk — 32.96°N, 88.13°WMooreville Chalk — 32.60°N, 87.68°WMooreville Chalk — 32.76°N, 88.02°WMooreville Chalk — 32.92°N, 88.07°WMooreville Chalk — 32.85°N, 87.84°WMooreville Chalk — 32.51°N, 87.36°WMooreville Chalk — 32.85°N, 87.93°WMooreville Chalk — 33.03°N, 87.97°WPierre Shale — 49.22°N, 98.20°WPierre Shale — 49.37°N, 98.27°WPierre Shale — 49.35°N, 98.34°WPierre Shale — 49.33°N, 98.23°WPierre Shale — 49.18°N, 98.10°WPierre Shale — 51.03°N, 100.20°WMaastricht — 50.82°N, 5.68°EMaastricht — 50.87°N, 5.77°EMaastricht — 50.84°N, 5.78°EPhosphates — 32.88°N, 6.63°WGramame — 7.25°S, 34.80°WGramame — 7.60°S, 34.89°WGramame — 7.94°S, 34.87°WGramame — 7.73°S, 34.83°WBearpaw Shale — 50.67°N, 107.43°WBearpaw Shale — 49.63°N, 110.85°WBearpaw Shale — 49.68°N, 112.83°WBearpaw Shale — 51.26°N, 112.32°WBearpaw Shale — 50.50°N, 107.83°WBearpaw Shale — 50.64°N, 107.44°WTahora — 38.92°S, 176.83°ETahora — 39.00°S, 176.75°EConway — 42.57°S, 173.52°EConway — 43.06°S, 172.58°EConway — 42.81°S, 173.28°ENew Egypt — 39.73°N, 75.16°WNew Egypt — 39.80°N, 75.09°WNew Egypt — 40.25°N, 74.12°WDukamaje — 15.47°N, 6.26°EDukamaje — 15.37°N, 5.83°ETorme — 42.67°N, 2.63°WCarlile Shale — 39.35°N, 98.60°WCarlile Shale — 39.08°N, 99.25°WCarlile Shale — 39.08°N, 99.24°WCarlile Shale — 39.05°N, 99.03°WCarlile Shale — 38.84°N, 104.88°WCarlile Shale — 39.78°N, 98.15°WCarlile Shale — 39.16°N, 98.99°WMocuio — 14.27°S, 12.38°EOpoka — 51.10°N, 21.80°EOpoka — 51.33°N, 21.97°EOpoka — 51.10°N, 21.68°EFox Hills — 44.98°N, 101.67°WFox Hills — 46.38°N, 100.85°WFox Hills — 46.01°N, 100.72°WFox Hills — 46.10°N, 100.43°WFox Hills — 46.28°N, 100.54°WFox Hills — 46.28°N, 100.45°WFox Hills — 46.38°N, 99.59°WJagüel — 39.86°S, 66.62°WJagüel — 39.85°S, 66.68°W

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The named rock units Mosasauridae has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 152 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 234 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Mosasauridae and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Mosasauridae and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

1,221 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 532 sites for Mosasauridae, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

344 references

Each of the 849 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 332 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Mosasauridae

Credit
MCDinosaurhunter
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution
Commercial use
cannot be read from the licence given — check the record

Smithsonian Open Access and MorphoSource were not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itSquamata through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Gervais 1852