Dino card No. 0108 of 2,027

Angolasaurus

Say it: an-GOH-lah-SORE-us

Name means: “Angola lizard”1

Ate: MeatMosasaursLate CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Angolasaurus was a marine lizard that swam in the warm seas of the Late Cretaceous. It was a small mosasaur, about 4 meters long, with a long skull and a tail fluke for fast swimming.1

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

90 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Angola, and possibly the United States (Texas), Brazil, and Niger1

Food

Meat2 1

Length

4 m1

estimated from skull length of 40 cm using Russell's ratio

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 4 dogs nose to tailas long as 22 bananas end to end

How big was Angolasaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Angolasaurus was one of the few Turonian mosasaurs found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, showing it could cross the sea.1

Its skull had 11 teeth in the upper jaw, 4 in the front, and 12 in the lower jaw.1

Scientists think Angolasaurus had a tail fluke, like a shark, for powerful swimming.1

Its body was covered in keeled scales that helped it move smoothly through water.1

Because the seas it lived in were cooling, Angolasaurus may have had dark patterns on its back to soak up heat from the sun.1

Angolasaurus shared its home in Angola with the giant mosasaur Tylosaurus and a turtle called Angolachelys.1

AI-made picture of Angolasaurus — An AI-made picture of how Angolasaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Angolasaurus

?Was Angolasaurus a dinosaur?

No, it was a marine lizard called a mosasaur, not a dinosaur. It lived in the sea during the time of the dinosaurs.1

?How big was Angolasaurus?

About 4 meters long, with a skull about 40 centimeters long. It was a small mosasaur.1

?What did Angolasaurus eat?

Scientists do not know exactly, but as a mosasaur it likely ate fish and other sea creatures. Its teeth suggest it was a predator.1

?Where did Angolasaurus live?

It lived in the warm seas of Angola, and also possibly in what is now the United States, Brazil, and Niger. It could cross the Atlantic Ocean.1

Ask Rex about Angolasaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Angolasaurus
Named by: unknown3
Group: Mosasaurs
Family / clade: Mosasauridae3
Classification: Mosasauroidea3
Age of the rocks: 90 to 66 million years (Coniacian / Maastrichtian)3
Rock formations: Itombe, Dukamaje3
Countries: Angola, Niger3
Fossil records: 3 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Angolasaurus was first named in 1964 by Miguel Telles Antunes, based on a partial skull and skeleton found in Angola. It was later thought to be a species of Platecarpus, but new studies in 2005 showed it was a separate genus.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly where Angolasaurus fits in the mosasaur family tree, with some studies placing it as a basal plioplatecarpine.1

Where the facts come from

Angolasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Angolasaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex