Hainosaurus

Name: Hainosaurus ‭(‬Haino lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: High-noe-sore-us.
Named By: Louis Dollo‭ ‬-‭ ‬1885.‭
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Squamata,‭ ‬Mosasauridae,‭ ‬Tylosaurinae.
Species: H.‭ ‬bernardi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Estimated about ‬12‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Europe.
Time period: Campanian to Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Many specimens but of partial remains.




       Hainosaurus is usually considered to be one of the largest known mosasaurs‭; ‬however its actual size is a subject of on-going study.‭ ‬Early length estimates placed Hainosaurus at seventeen meters,‭ ‬while later study towards the end of the twentieth century revised this‭ ‬down to‭ ‬fifteen.‭ ‬A Hainosaurus specimen from Sweden that was described by Johan Lindgran has seen the total length of Hainosaurus fall to just over‭ ‬12‭ ‬meters.‭ ‬As is always the case an exceptionally well preserved specimen of a fully grown adult would be required to settle the size of Hainosaurus without question.
       Even at a more modest twelve meters,‭ ‬Hainosaurus was still one of the bigger predators in the late Cretaceous seas,‭ ‬with only very rare larger predators‭ ‬like Mosasaurus‭ ‬being able to challenge its dominance.‭ ‬Hainosaurus was probably a generalist predator of other large marine organisms such as turtles,‭ ‬smaller mosasaurs,‭ ‬later plesiosaurs,‭ ‬as well as possibly large fish and sharks.‭ ‬While still growing up however it may have included other types of smaller animals such as ammonites and even birds,‭ ‬as indicated by fossil evidence for other mosasaurs.
       As a tylosaurine mosasaur Hainosaurus is thought to have been most closely related to other mosasaurs such as Tylosaurus and Taniwhasaurus.




Further reading
- The first record of Hainosaurus (Reptilia: Mosasauridae) from Sweden. - Journal of Paleontology: Vol. 79, No. 6, pp. 1157–1165. - Johan Lindgren - 2005.
- Phylogenetic and Palaeobiogeographical Analysis of Tylosaurinae (Squamata: Mosasauroidea). - University of Alberta, Ph.D dissertation. - Paulina Jimenez-huidobro - 2016.
- Reassessment and reassignment of the early Maastrichtian mosasaur Hainosaurus bernardi Dollo, 1885, to Tylosaurus Marsh, 1872. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology - Paulina Jimenez-huidobro & Michael W. Caldwell - 2016.

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