Romeosaurus

Romeosaurus had a forked tip on a bone in its skull called the suprastapedial process of the quadrate, which helped scientists tell it apart from similar mosasaurs.2

Two species of Romeosaurus have been named: Romeosaurus fumanensis and Romeosaurus sorbinii. R. fumanensis is named after the town of Fumane, and R. sorbinii honors the paleontologist Lorenzo Sorbini.1

Scientists have found only five specimens of Romeosaurus, and none of them had well-preserved bones from the neck or tail, so its full body shape is still a mystery.1

Romeosaurus belongs to a group of mosasaurs called Yaguarasaurinae, which also includes Russellosaurus from North America and Yaguarasaurus from South America.23

The fossils of Romeosaurus were discovered during quarrying operations in the mountains north of Verona, Italy, in rocks that were once the bottom of a shallow sea.2