Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of various extinct carnivorous marine reptiles of the family Mosasauridae of the Cretaceous Period, having an elongated body, powerful jaws, and paddlelike limbs. Some species reached lengths of over 15 meters (50 feet).

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A general name for the large, extinct marine reptiles of the family Mosasauridæ, including the well-known genera Mosasaurus, Tylosaurus, Clidastes, etc. They had long, pointed heads, rather long bodies, a compressed tail, and limbs modified into short, flattened paddles. They abounded in the Cretaceous period and their remains are particularly abundant in the chalk of Kansas.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun (Paleon.) One of an extinct order of reptiles, including Mosasaurus and allied genera. See mosasauria.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun An large extinct marine reptile, in the family Mosasauridae; the ancestor of modern snakes.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[New Latin Mosasaurus, genus name : Latin Mosa, the Meuse River (where fossils of the genus were first discovered) + Greek sauros, lizard.]

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Examples

  • The word mosasaur comes from the Meuse river in France.

    The Mosasaur and the missing link - The Panda's Thumb 2005

  • Pro from Dover: Cuvier was in correspondence with Camper and eventually came around to his conclusion that the mosasaur was a lizard.

    The Mosasaur and the missing link - The Panda's Thumb 2005

  • Another one of his discoveries, considered the most complete fossil ever found of an extinct marine lizard called a mosasaur, is displayed next to the pregnant plesiosaur.

    News - latimes.com 2011

  • Another one of his discoveries, considered the most complete fossil ever found of an extinct marine lizard called a mosasaur, is displayed next to the pregnant plesiosaur.

    News - latimes.com 2011

  • The mosasaur is a large marine lizard that lived around the end of the Cretaceous period, about 85 million to 65 million years ago, and inhabited the shallow seas that once covered much of Saskatchewan.

    canada.com Top Stories 2010

  • The mosasaur is a large marine lizard that lived around the end of the Cretaceous period, about 85 million to 65 million years ago, and inhabited the shallow seas that once covered much of Saskatchewan.

    canada.com Top Stories 2010

  • Well, I've done it once myself, describing a new mosasaur genus and species, Selmasaurus russelli.

    2009 in Dinosaur Paleontology (better late than never). greygirlbeast 2010

  • And as if that still wasn't cool enough, it was inscribed to me, with a mosasaur illustration!

    Dinosaur Discoveries! corucia 2010

  • And as if that still wasn't cool enough, it was inscribed to me, with a mosasaur illustration!

    Dinosaur Discoveries! corucia 2010

  • A mosasaur seemed the obvious choice, given your half-dozen publications on them!

    Dinosaur Discoveries! corucia 2010

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