Page 87 - Prehistoric Animals

Moan-A-Sorus

Moanasaurus

Moanasaurus (Sea lizard) is a genus of mosasaur. It
lived in the Late Cretaceous period around 100 to 66 million
years ago and its estimated to have measured around 12 me-
tres in length and weighing in around 4 tonnes.

Moanasaurus is one of a large number of species
grouped together under the heading Mosasaurs. Mosasaurs
are large marine reptiles that share certain similarities and
roamed the planet in the Late Cretaceous. They are found
worldwide including the waters off New Zealand. What
makes Moanasaurus stand out from this group is, its fossil-
ized remains have only been found on New Zealand’s North
Island*.

The fossils included a large scull, measuring 78 cm in
length. From the size of this scull Gregory S. Paul was able to
estimate the size of Moanasaurus. He estimated the size at
around 12 metres, putting Moanasaurus amongst the largest
Mosasaurs and possibly on par with the known largest Mosa-
saur, M.hoffmannil (13 metres).

In its day Moanasaurus must have been an awesome
aquatic predator. With its huge jaws, typical of Mosasaurs,
and lined with sharp flesh cutting teeth it would have been
able to tackle most large aquatic prey found off the coast of
New Zealand’s North Island; even other large Mosasaurs.

Moanasaurus was the name chosen by Joan Wiffen in
1980. It reflected its uniqueness with New Zealand; with the
Māori word Moana meaning "sea” and the Greek word, sau-
ros, meaning "lizard" (Sea Lizard). In 1993 the New Zealand
Post office issued a stamp depicting Moanasaurus to celebrate
New Zealand’s unique prehistoric animals.
*Some claim that some Antarctic Mosasaurus fossils display a remarka-
ble likeness to Moanasaurus. These claims have never been authenticated