Mosasaurus - The King of Oceans in the Dino Period!

Hello Kids! Welcome back to KidsCast! We are here again with an amazing article, well if you already couldn't tell by the title, today's topic is Mosasaurus! Yup, the largest animal to ever have lived! Ooh, are all of you ready for this amazing ride that is going to give you a deep dive into these amazing creatures? So, Let's get into it! 

Introduction to the species 

So, What are these Mosasaurus? Mosasaurus are an extinct group of aquatic reptiles. They lived about 82 million years ago. They come in the squamate category, which means they have scales on their body. There is a very common misbelief that these amazing creatures are dinosaurs, they are not...They are reptiles! 

It lived during the Cretaceous Era, which is the era when Dinosaurs were there. It can be said that it was just a huge, aquatic lizard! It also wasn't a deep water animal, it lived on the upper surface of the water bodies as it breathes air, it used to come to the surface of the water bodies every few minutes to breathe. 

Characteristics 

 

Mosasaurus' average height is around 17-18 m and it can weigh up to 78,000 kilograms! 

They were usually dark grey, black, and in some rare cases white too! They have long tails, and scales all over their body, which is pretty obvious as it is a reptile after all. It can travel 30 miles per hour! The average lifespan of a Mosasaurus is 42 years. 

Eating Habits

So, these creatures were carnivores, and they ate any edible thing they could find! Let it be a fish, other aquatic creatures, or in extreme situations, they even ate other Mosasaurus! They could also expand their jaws to swallow whole prey, just like snakes. Any animal that entered the water would be no match for it; even a giant dinosaur such as a T- rex would not have a chance. Some theories have even stated that if a T-rex will be put in front of a Mosasaurus it will eventually become its meal! That's how powerful these Mosasaurus were!

Fossils

These creatures are said to mainly inhabit Europe and North America, but their fossils have been found in a lot of other places. Their fossils have been found on almost all continents. The continents where the fossils were found are Asia, Europe, Australia, and North and South America. The places where their fossils have been found:-

• Nebraska
• South Dakota
• France
• Netherlands

Some Facts

1. The scientific name of Mosasaurus is Mosasauridae. 
2. It is bigger than a T-Rex, also known as the King of Dinosaurs!
3. Its first fossil was discovered back in 1764. 
4. They had 50 teeth in total!
5. They were related to lizards and alligators!

So, kids, that is it for today! We hope you guys enjoyed reading this article, got to know about a Mosasaurus, facts related to it, etc. We will soon be back with another article. Till then Happy Learning!