Mosasaurus appearance

[Concavenator]

Do we have a good idea of what did Mosasaurus hoffmannii look like?

I could be wrong, but IIRC, it's mostly known from skull material and its postcrania is fragmentary. Yet at the same time we know it has different proportions to Tylosaurus. In that case, I'd guess its postcrania is complete enough for us to be able to state its proportions differed to Tylosaurus'?

I'd be interested in reading what people more versed in marine reptiles than me have to say about this.

[Newt]

These papers might be helpful, though none include a whole-body reconstruction. Several of them compare Mosasaurus' swimming adaptations to those of Plotosaurus, so that genus might be a good point of comparison.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rstb.1995.0019

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hallie-Street/publication/303090121_Rediagnosis_and_redescription_of_Mosasaurus_hoffmannii_Squamata_Mosasauridae_and_an_assessment_of_species_assigned_to_the_genus_Mosasaurus/links/59175d3aa6fdcc963e8561cb/Rediagnosis-and-redescription-of-Mosasaurus-hoffmannii-Squamata-Mosasauridae-and-an-assessment-of-species-assigned-to-the-genus-Mosasaurus.pdf

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/6E44A7F5FA89FFB8A5FD21174A6E376F/S0016774614000286a.pdf/osteology_and_taxonomy_of_mosasaurus_conodon_cope_1881_from_the_late_cretaceous_of_north_america.pdf

Mosasaurines generally seem to have been more like ichthyosaurs or whales than Tylosaurus was, at least in regard to their flippers. The long bones of the limbs were stubby little blocks while the manus was big and the fingers elongate (I haven't seen any mention of the pedes in my brief search). There is a recent description of a mosasaurine from Japan with evidence of a dorsal fin, though I am unable to access the full paper: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14772019.2023.2277921 . Overall, Mosasaurus and its kin seem to have been more fully adapted to life in the open ocean than the in-shore Tylosaurus. 

[HD-man]

Do we have a good idea of what did Mosasaurus hoffmannii look like?

You know the rule: Everything in PhP is canon until science explicitly says otherwise 😉

[Concavenator]

@Newt Thank you for the explanation.  I recall having read the first two papers you linked to before, but I'm not sure what to make of them. I see some elements being described, but overall, I'm not sure if we have a good idea of the animal's appearance. Those two papers were also referenced in the following post about a Mosasaurus skeletal on DeviantArt. Both Street & Caldwell 2016 and the skeletal post state Mosasaurus hoffmanii is poorly studied, but IDK if that also equates to its remains being poor too, because I know how to tell Mosasaurus and Tylosaurus apart, which again suggests Mosasaurus must have sufficiently complete remains for us to know its proportions looked like the aforementioned skeletal's. Here's another Mosasaurus skeletal, which looks consistent with the previous one:



Mosasaurus skeletal by Incinerox.

H @HD-man Sure, I know Prehistoric Planet's depictions are very accurate. I meant to ask whether or not is Mosasaurus hoffmanni known from good remains (or at least, decent enough remains enabling us to know what it looked like). And the series also included taxa known from poor material, like Imperobator, Nanuqsaurus, Barsholdia, Kaikaifilu and Barbaridactylus.. One can always infer an animal's appearance based on more complete relatives, and until more findings prove otherwise, it could be called "accurate". But my question is if that specific taxon, Mosasaurus hoffmanii, is known from a sufficient amount of material. Or at least any species within the Mosasaurus genus.

@DinoToyForum Hey Dr. Admin, I'd very much be interested in hearing your thoughts about this. 

[Newt]

My understanding is that only a few vertebrae are known for any Mosasaurus species, so it is difficult to say how long its spine was or what its exact proportions were. I would guess the skeletal you show uses other mosasaurines such as Plotosaurus or Prognathodon to fill in the parts not known for Mosasaurus.