Mosasaurus

* Evolution 2
* Database

* Evolution 2

***Mosasaurus*** is a genus of marine reptile in *Evolution 2*, originating in Late Cretaceous Europe and North America. The *Mosasaurus* is an apex predator and the largest marine reptile available, measuring up to 18 meters long.

*Mosasaurus* is unlocked in the Jurassic World Chaos Theory level and in Challenge Mode, and its fossils can be excavated from the Fox Hills Formation in North America and the Maastricht Formation in Europe. Once one has been researched and successfully released, the species becomes available for use in Sandbox Mode.

## History

In 2000, Dr. Henry Wu and InGen were able to extract DNA from a *Mosasaurus* fossil specimen using a prototype iron analyzer.

The *Mosasaurus* became Jurassic World's star attraction where it would jump up and catch a shark to feed on in the Mosasaurus Feeding Show. After the park's *Pteranodon* and *Dimorphodon* population escaped from the Jurassic World Aviary during the 2015 Isla Nublar Incident, the *Mosasaurus* managed to devour one of the flying reptiles that was also attacking Zara Young. The *Mosasaurus* eventually leaped out from its lagoon to kill and feed on the rampaging *Indominus rex*.

Six months after the fall of Jurassic World, the Mosasaurus remained in its lagoon until mercenaries sent by Eli Mills and Dr. Henry Wu entered the island to retrieve a DNA sample of the *Indominus rex*. The *Mosasaurus* managed to devour some of the mercenaries and swam out to the Pacific Ocean after the lagoon's gates were left open.

A year after the events at Lockwood Manor, the *Mosasaurus* was recorded feeding on a great white shark that had just caught a sea lion.

Four years after the events at the Lockwood Manor, the *Mosasaurus* was witnessed attacking a crabbing boat off the coast of Alaska and that it had formed a bond with a pod of humpback whales.

## Characteristics

The largest member and namesake of its family (its name translates to "*Lizard of the Meuse River*", in reference to the location of its discovery), the *Mosasaurus* is one of the largest marine reptiles in history, growing up to 17 meters in length, and lived in the Late Cretaceous period from 82 to 65 million years ago in the Atlantic Ocean. *Mosasaurus'* rows of sharp teeth, powerful paddle-like limbs and excellent vision make it an efficient predator, feeding on fish, cephalopods and other marine reptiles. The *Mosasaurus* greatly resembles the *Tylosaurus*, but had a more robust physique.

## Gameplay

In *Evolution 2*, *Mosasaurus* has a base appeal of 2,500, the highest of any species. As such, they are a very popular species among all guest types and can provide an immediate boost to park rating and revenue. They are also the most expensive species in the game as it costs $2 Million to extract fossils from the site.

### Behaviour

*Mosasaurus* are a solitary species which do not tolerate any other member of their kind within their Lagoon, or the closely related *Tylosaurus*, which can result in potentially deadly fights. They tolerate smaller marine species such as *Ichthyosaurus* and *Plesiosaurus*, preying upon anything they can sink their jaws into. A unique attribute of the *Mosasaurus* is its ability to feed from suspended Shark Feeders, allowing the species to lunge out of the water and devour a shark. This makes the *Mosasaurus* the first marine reptile to eat from Shark Feeders, the second being the considerably smaller *Kronosaurus*.

## Paleontology

The carnivorous *Mosasaurus* is one of the largest marine reptiles in history, growing up to nearly 18m in length. *Mosasaurus*’ rows of sharp teeth, powerful paddle-like limbs and excellent vision make it an efficient predator, feeding on fish, cephalopods and other marine reptiles. Its name translates to ‘lizard of the Meuse River’, in reference to the location of its discovery.

*Mosasaurus* was first discovered as far back as 1764, when skull fragments were excavated from Mount Saint Peter, near the Meuse River in the Netherlands. The findings were initially classified as a type of fish, while a second, similar skull unearthed in 1780 led experts to believe it was a crocodile. It wasn’t until 1822 that it was officially classified as a new genus named Mosasaur by English paleontologist William Daniel Conybeare.

### Paleoecology

Although the first *Mosasaurus* remains were found in Europe, further fossils have been found across the world, from North America to parts of Africa and even Antarctica. As the apex predator of its habitat in the Late Cretaceous period, around 65-80 million years ago, it would not have been attacked by other reptiles – however researchers believe that that it may have fought within its own genus.

Several features of *Mosasaurus* fossils suggest that this species relied on delivering critical injuries to slow prey with crushing force. Firstly, the reptile's bulky build shows that it was not built for speed or to pursue prey over long distances. It also lacked binocular vision, an advantage most pursuit predators possess to judge distance. Furthermore, *Mosasaurus'* relatively underdeveloped olfactory bulb - the neural structure responsible for processing scent - implies that it would have been ill-suited to long-range scavenging. The logical conclusion is that large, slow prey was the primary food of *Mosasaurus*.

This raises the question of interspecific competition, namely between *Mosasaurus*, *Prognathodon*, *Tylosaurus* and their relatives, all of which acted as apex predators of the Late Cretaceous seas. Forensic paleontology, including carbon isotope analysis, suggests that *Mosasaurus* preferred to hunt softer prey, such as plesiosaurus, leaving tougher, armoured prey like turtles to *Prognathodon* which had more robust teeth. This did not mean there was no interspecies combat between types of mosasaur, however, as they would have still competed over territory and shared prey.

## Behind the scenes

The design of the *Mosasaurus* is based on the animal's first movie appearance in 2015's *Jurassic World*. In order to create the animal, movie assets provided by Universal Pictures were used in order to create the most authentic representation of the animal.

## Gallery

VideosSpecies Field Guide - Mosasaurus - Jurassic World Evolution 2
Images
## References

1. ↑ *Masrani Global Terminal System*
2. ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2015). *Jurassic World* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
3. ↑ Bayona, J. A. (Director). (2018). *Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
4. ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2019). *Battle at Big Rock* [Short film]. Universal Pictures.
5. ↑ Trevorrow, Colin. (Director). (2022). *Jurassic World Dominion* [Film]. Universal Pictures.
6. ↑ *Mosasaurus*. Jurassic World Evolution 2 Database. Retrieved October 21, 2022.
7. ↑ *Mosasaurus.* Prehistoric Wildlife. Retrieved 21 October, 2022.
8. ↑ Schulp, A., Vonhof, H., Van der Lubbe, J., Janssen, R., & Van Baal, R. (2013). On diving and diet: Resource partitioning in type-Maastrichtian mosasaurs. *Netherlands Journal of Geosciences - Geologie En Mijnbouw,* *92*(2-3), 165-170. doi:10.1017/S001677460000010X.