Moanasaurus (From Māori moana "sea" and Greek sauros "lizard"; meaning "Sea Lizard") was a genus of mosasaur from the Late Cretaceous period. Its fossil remains have been discovered in the North Island of New Zealand. Moanasaurus was a very large mosasaurine known originally from holotype CD43, a disarticulated skull, vertebrae, ribs and flipper bones. The skull measures in length, which shows that Moanasaurus was one of the largest in the subfamily of Mosasaurinae.[1] Researchers argue that some Antarctic Mosasaurus remains (including a "large, fragmentary skull") may be attributed to this genus.[2]
Two additional species have been named, "Moanasaurus hobetsuensis" (originally named Mosasaurus hobetsuensis) and "Moanasaurus longirostris", but these are nomina nuda because they were named in a PhD thesis. The same thesis argued that Mosasaurus flemingi is a junior synonym of Moanasaurus mangahouangae.[3]
