| Halisaurinae Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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| Skeleton of Halisaurus arambourgi. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | †Mosasauria |
| Family: | †Mosasauridae |
| Subfamily: | †Halisaurinae Bardet et al., 2005 |
| Genera | |
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The Halisaurinae are a subfamily of mosasaurs, a group of Late Cretaceous marine lizards. They were small to medium-sized, ranging from just under 3 meters in Eonatator sternbergi to as much as 8 or 9 meters in Pluridens serpentis.[1] They tended to have relatively slender jaws and small, numerous teeth, suggesting a diet of small fish and other prey. Although the skeleton is primitive compared to other Mosasauridae in many respects, halisaurines had the distinctive hypocercal tail of other mosasaurids[2] suggesting good swimming ability, and they persisted alongside other mosasaurs until the end of the Cretaceous. The earliest known remains of halisaurines occur in rocks of Santonian age and the subfamily persists until the latest Maastrichtian. Halisaurines are known from North and South America, Europe, Asia and Africa,[3] indicating a more or less global distribution in the Late Cretaceous. Four genera are currently recognized: Eonatator, Halisaurus, Phosphorosaurus and Pluridens.
- ^ Longrich, N. R., Bardet, N., Khaldoune, F., Yazami, O. K., & Jalil, N.-E. (2021). Pluridens serpentis, a new mosasaurid (Mosasauridae: Halisaurinae) from the Maastrichtian of Morocco and implications for mosasaur diversity. Cretaceous Research, 104882.
- ^ Bardet, N., & Pereda-Suberbiola, X. (2001). The basal mosasaurid Halisaurus sternbergii from the Late Cretaceous of Kansas (North America): a review of the Uppsala type specimen. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences-Series IIA-Earth and Planetary Science, 332(6), 395-402.
- ^ "Fossilworks: Halisaurinae". fossilworks.org. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 17 December 2021.