Pachypleurosauria
| Pachypleurosauria | ||||||||||||
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Keichousaurus hui fossil |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Anisium - Ladinium (Middle Triassic ) | ||||||||||||
| 245 to 228 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pachypleurosauria | ||||||||||||
| Nopcsa , 1928 |
The Pachypleurosauria are an extinct group of marine reptiles . Well-preserved fossils were discovered in Ticino (CH) on Monte San Giorgio and in China.
features
Pachypleurosauria were elongated, with small heads, long necks, a flattened oar tail, and paddle-like limbs. The skull was slightly built and elongated. The eye and nasal cavities were large, the temporal windows small. The teeth were pin-shaped and pointed. There were large spaces between them. The teeth protruded from the front of the jaws. The pelvic and shoulder girdles are greatly reduced, the joints on the body are weak. The limbs were probably unable to carry the animals ashore. The animals, which grew to a length of 20 centimeters to one meter, swam with their flattened tails sideways and put their hind legs against the body. The forelimbs may have been used for steering or propulsion. Pachypleurosauria were likely fish-eaters.
Genera
- Anarosaurus DAMES, 1890
- Dactylosaurus GÜRICH, 1884
- Hanosaurus YOUNG, 1972
- Keichousaurus YOUNG, 1958
- Neusticosaurus SEELEY, 1882
- Pachypleurosaurus CORNALIA, 1854
- Psilotrachelosaurus NOPCSA, 1928
- Serpianosaurus RIEPPEL, 1989
literature
- Michael J. Benton : Paleontology of the vertebrates. Translation of the 3rd English edition. Pfeil, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-89937-072-0 .
Web links
- www.palaeos.com Pachypleurosauridae (eng)
- The Plesiosaur Directory Pachypleurosauria