| Mauisaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Replica of paddle bones,Auckland War Memorial Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | †Sauropterygia |
| Order: | †Plesiosauria |
| Superfamily: | †Plesiosauroidea |
| Family: | †Elasmosauridae |
| Genus: | †Mauisaurus Hector,1874 |
| Species: | †M. haasti |
| Binomial name | |
| †Mauisaurus haasti Hector, 1874 | |
Mauisaurus ("Māui lizard") is a dubiousgenus ofplesiosaur that lived during theLate Cretaceous period in what is nowNew Zealand. Numerous specimens have been attributed to this genus in the past, but a 2017 paper restrictsMauisaurus to the lectotype and declares it anomen dubium.[1]
Mauisaurus remains have all been found in New Zealand'sSouth Island, inCanterbury.Mauisaurus haasti was described by Hector in 1874 based on eight specimens and diagnosed by its cervical vertebrae and a humerus with large tuberosities. However, of these eight specimens, two, consisting of ribs and paddle, were lost, while another, the cast of a jaw fragment (the original fossil of which was also lost) was found to be a mosasaur. The most substantial specimen, 8a (DM R1529), consisted of fragmentary pubes, a partial ilium and hindlimbs, originally misidentified as part of the pectoral girdle.[1]
Mauisaurus gets its name from the New ZealandMāorimythological demigod,Māui. Māui is said to have pulled New Zealand up from the seabed using a fish hook, thus creating the country. Thus,Mauisaurus means "Māui lizard".Mauisaurus gets its scientific last name from its original finder,Julius von Haast, who found the firstMauisaurus fossil in 1870 aroundGore Bay, New Zealand. The specimen was then first described in 1874.[2]
A second species was also named by Hector,Mauisaurus brachiolatus, based on the proximal end of a very large humerus as well as a humerus together with radius and radiale. There was some confusion regarding this species, as the description named itM. latibrachialis, while the specimen list included it under the nameM. brachiolatus.
In 1962 specimen 8a was declared the lectotype ofMauisaurus haasti by Welles who further suggested thatM. brachiolatus should be deemed anomen vanum in an overview of Cretaceous plesiosaurs.[3] Later in 1971 Welles & Gregg revised the diagnosis ofM. haasti and produced a detailed description of the lectotype, assigned Hector's specimen 8g as the paralectotype and rejected the remaining 3 specimen of Hector's original 8 as non-diagnostic, while themselves referring 9 new specimens (including both "M. brachiolatus" specimens) to the species.[4]
Mauisaurus was examined once more in 2005 by Hilleret al., rejecting the inclusion of the former "M. brachiolatus" material as well as several of the specimens referred toMauisaurus in 1971, deeming all of them undiagnostic. In the same paper two more specimens are instead referred to the genus.[5] One of these specimens, CM Zfr 115, consisted of skull bones, a nearly complete series of vertebrae and bones from all four limbs. The animal was considered to be over 8 m (26 ft) in length.[5] A variety of other specimens were also referred to eitherMauisaurus sp. orcf. Mauisaurus sp. during the early to late 2000s.[6][7][8][9]
It was later concluded that a hemispherical femoral capitulum, the defining apomorphy ofMauisaurus was also present in members of the Aristonectinae, which referred specimen CM Zfr 115 with its more than 60 neck vertebrae did not belong to.[1] This, together with additional information fromAristonectes quiriquinensis andKaiwhekea katiki, was discussed in detail by Oteroet al. in 2015.[10] The presence of femora with strongly hemispherical capitula in more than one aristonectine and also in non-aristonectine elasmosaurids bringsMauisaurus once again into question, with material previously referred to it now being placed in separate clades. Other anatomical features ofMauisaurus were also found amongst both aristonectines and non-aristonectine elasmosaurs, excluding them from being able to be used as apomorphies. More refined biostratigraphy furthermore questions the referral of many specimen, as the analysis showed that the various fossils attributed to this genus range from the middle Campanian to the early Cretaceous, a timespan of 10 million years (longer when taking into account referred specimens from Antarctica and South America). This longevity of a single genus is deemed unusually long by Hilleret al..[1] The paper concludes that the hypodigm ofMauisaurus consists of more than one taxon, withMauisaurus only significant apomorphy being present in a variety of genera from different clades, rendering it non-diagnostic. While DM R1529 remains the lectotype, the genus must be treated as anomen dubium and should instead be referred to as Elasmosauridae indet.[1]
Little can be said about the appearance ofMauisaurus as the only known material is an undiagnostic, fragmentary pelvic area and flippers. The lectotype material shows some features that may indicate aristonectine affinities, but simultaneously possesses anatomical features more consistent with non-aristonectine elasmosaurs.
Mauisaurus is one of the few New Zealand prehistoric creatures, and so, has had much publicity in the country. On 1 October 1993, a set of stamps was released to the general public. Although it depicted many otherdinosaurs and prehistoric life,Mauisaurus was featured hunting fish on the $1.20 stamp.[11]
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