Mosasaurus

One of the largest aquatic reptiles gone extinct.

Mosasaurus is a species of aquatic reptile that lived 82 to 66 million years ago. The first fossils of the Mosasaurus were first recorded in the late 1700s, and were initially believed to be the bones of crocodiles or whales. These fossils were further examined in 1808 by Georges Cuvier, and concluded to belong to a giant marine lizard.

Mosasaurus are estimated to have a maximum length of 17.6 meters (average human male height is 1.7m). The jaws have dozens of large teeth along with powerful muscles to take down their prey. This predator has a poor sense of smell, but makes up for this fault with its extraordinary vision.

Found fossils of this predator suggest that the Mosasaurus inhabited much of the Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seaways. Scientists think that the diet of the Mosasaurus includes bony fish, sharks, cephalopods, birds, sea turtles and other mosasaurs.

The dominant mosasaurs went extinct due to the K-Pg event at the end of the Cretaceous period. This event occured 65 million years ago as an asteroid hits the earth in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico.

If this animal was alive today, it could often be seen by us humans as mosasaurs are believed to have preferred hunting in open water and near the surface.