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Mosasaurus mokoroa

Reptilia - Mosasauridae

Taxonomy
Mosasaurus mokoroa was named by Welles and Gregg (1971). Its type specimen is C.M. zfr 1, a partial skeleton (disarticulated skull and vertebrae), and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Cheviot, which is in a Haumurian marine horizon in the Conway Formation of New Zealand.

Sister species lacking formal opinion data

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1874Leiodon haumuriensis Hector p. 351 figs. Pl. XXX
1971Mosasaurus mokoroa Welles and Gregg pp. 79-98 figs. 45-55
1991Mosasaurus mokoroa Fordyce p. 1174
2019Mosasaurus mokoroa Driscoll et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
Osteichthyes()
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
RankNameAuthor
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
Squamata()
familyMosasauridae
subfamilyMosasaurinaeGervais 1853
genusMosasaurus
speciesmokoroa

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

Mosasaurus mokoroa Welles and Gregg 1971
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Invalid names: Leiodon haumuriensis Hector 1874 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
J. Hector 1874 (Leiodon haumuriensis)"There are 15 teeth, averaging two inches apart, above and below; the mature teeth rising from a distinct elevated crown of cement—characteristic of this genus—while the immature teeth push their way through the cement, generally alongside or slightly internal to the base of the old teeth. The largest mature teeth have a black enamelled crown 1.5 inches in length, slightly curved outwards and backwards, compressed laterally with an obtuse anterior ridge, and more rounded but still slightly angulate behind, the surface being irregularly striate but not channelled."
S. P. Welles and D. R. Gregg 1971A Mosasaurus with a skull 700mm long; prefrontal moderately concave; frontal border nearly straight; quadrate with suprastapedial process extending below middle of quadrate and constricted medially to less than half its distal width; meatus open 3.5mm below; infrastapedial process projecting posterodorsomedially; stapedial pit tilted posteriorly; deep vertical groove on internal face below pit.