Introduction For paleontologists, determining whether fossils belong to an animal which is already known or if they belong to a hitherto undiscovered species can be a bit tricky, especially if the animal is only known from incomplete remains. Suppose you… Read More ›
plesiosaur
Muraenosaurus
Muraenosaurus, “the moray eel lizard”, was a medium-sized plesiosaur which lived in the sea which once covered southern England and northern France during the middle of the Jurassic Period 165-164 million years ago. In the 19th Century, a partial skeleton… Read More ›
Kronosaurus
Kronosaurus was a massive marine reptile called a pliosaur which lived in the waters around northeastern Australia during the middle Cretaceous Period circa 105-100 million years ago. The fossils of this animal were discovered in 1899 in Queensland, Australia, consisting… Read More ›
Hauffiosaurus
Hauffiosaurus was a genus of plesiosaur which lived around England and Germany during the early Jurassic Period. There are currently three known species: H. zanoni, H. tomistomimus, and H. longirostris. Of these, Hauffiosaurus longirostris was the largest, measuring almost 16… Read More ›
Macroplata
Macroplata was a 15 foot long plesiosaur which lived around England during the early Jurassic Period 199 million years ago. In either late 1927 or early 1928, a plesiosaur skeleton was discovered in a limestone quarry in Harbury, Warwickshire, England…. Read More ›
Plesiosaurus
Plesiosaurus was a 10 foot long marine reptile which swam in the seas around England during the early Jurassic Period about 195 million years ago. During the early 19th Century, isolated fossil bones were discovered scattered in various locations on… Read More ›
Cimoliasaurus
Cimoliasaurus, meaning “chalk lizard” due to its fossils being found within layers of chalk, was a genus of elasmosaurid plesiosaur which lived at the end of the Cretaceous Period 70-66 million years ago, making it one of the last plesiosaurs… Read More ›
Thalassomedon
Thalassomedon, meaning “lord of the sea”, was a 38 foot long elasmosaurid plesiosaur which lived within the Mowry Sea, the shallow sea that covered North America during the middle of the Cretaceous Period 97-95 million years ago. In March 1939,… Read More ›
Edgarosaurus
Edgarosaurus was a 12 foot long short-necked plesiosaur which lived within the Mowry Sea during the middle Cretaceous Period 105-100 million years ago. In 1993, a well-preserved fossil specimen consisting of the skull, neck, and one front flipper (collection ID… Read More ›
Brachauchenius
Brachauchenius was a 15 foot long pliosaur which lived in the shallow sea that once covered the middle of North America during the middle Cretaceous Period 100-90 million years ago. Fossils of this animal were first found by Charles H…. Read More ›