Hainosaurus

Hainosaurus (Haino from the river Haine, where it was first discovered, and saurus, from Greek sauros, meaning lizard) is an extinct genus of marine lizard belonging to the mosasaur family. It is one of the largest mosasaurs, though its size has been revised more than once. At first it was estimated to be 17 m, and the largest mosasaurid. During the 1990s, its size was revised to 15 m long; more recently, Johan Lindgren estimated that it reached lengths of up to 12.2 m. It was one of the top marine predators of the Late Cretaceous. Like other giant mosasaurs, this giant predator preyed on turtles, plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, cephalopods, sharks, fish, and smaller mosasaurs.

The fossils of H. pembinensis were found in the Upper Cretaceous Pierre Shale in Manitoba, Canada in 1988. It was distinguished from Tylosaurus by having a greater number of vertebrae before the tail, a larger femur to humerus ratio, and larger nostrils. However, a 2008 study found that conclusion to be problematic, and thus reclassified into the genus Tylosaurus as T. pembinensis. Likewise, Hainosaurus neumilleri Martin, 2007 is a nomen dubium within Tylosaurus.

In Popular Culture:

In Dinosauria: the movie 7, Rex-on, a young Tyrannosaurus, and his pals help a young Dolichorhynchops named Dollie to find her family while evading a Hainosaurus mosasaur, who swims back to the open sea to hunt for food towards the end of the film!!!

Dinosaur Train-a new episode about the Dinosaur Submarine called Hainosaurus hassle, Buddy Tyrannosaurus, and his Pteranodon family join the Conductor [a Troodon] as they meet a big Hainosaurus named Hainy.