Pachypleurosaurus
| Pachypleurosaurus | ||||||||||||
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Fossil of a Pachypleurosaurus from Monte San Giorgio |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Middle Triassic ( Ladinium ) | ||||||||||||
| 237 to 228.7 million years | ||||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Pachypleurosaurus | ||||||||||||
| Broili , 1927 | ||||||||||||
| Art | ||||||||||||
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Pachypleurosaurus is a genus of the extinct Pachypleurosauria - a group of diapsid reptiles living in the sea- from the Central European Ladinium (Upper Middle Triassic, 237 to 228.7 mya ). Only the type species Pachypleurosaurus edwardsi has been scientifically described .
Fossils of the genus reached a length of up to 120 centimeters. The majority of the finds, however, are much smaller. Its habitat were lagoons and coastal waters. The limbs were not fully reshaped for aquatic life. The name "Pachypleurosaurus" comes from the Greek ( Greek : pachy "thick", pleuro " rib " and sauros "lizard"), which refers to the thickened rib bones.
Numerous well-preserved fossils were discovered in Ticino, Switzerland on Monte San Giorgio .
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Paleobiology Database. Last accessed November 8, 2009
Web links
- www.palaeos.com Pachypleurosauridae (eng)