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 ›
Tethys Sea
Peloneustes
Peloneustes was a 13 foot long pliosaur which swam in the sea around England during the middle of the Jurassic Period 165 million years ago. The first specimen of this animal was found near the city of Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England… Read More ›
Cricosaurus
Cricosaurus was a genus of 5-10 foot long marine crocodylomorphs which swam in the shallow seas around Mexico, Argentina, and Germany from the late Jurassic Period to the early Cretaceous Period, approximately 152-132 million years ago. Cricosarus belonged to a… Read More ›
Synechodus
Synechodus was a genus of prehistoric saltwater shark which lived from the early Permian Period until the late Eocene Epoch of the Paleogene Period, 290 to 37 million years ago (Ivanov 2005, pages 127-138). Fossils of this animal reached around… Read More ›
Acamptonectes
Acamptonectes densus was a 4 meter (13 foot) long ichthyosaur which swam in the seas around western Europe during the early Cretaceous Period 131-129 million years ago. The first specimen was found in the seaside village of Speeton, Yorkshire, England… Read More ›
Caturus
This is Caturus, a prehistoric fish which swam in the oceans during the Mesozoic Era. Fossils of this saltwater fish have been found in North America, Europe, northern Africa, and as far as China within rocks spanning from the beginning… Read More ›
Hybodus, the iconic shark of the dinosaur age
Many people, usually un-informed talking heads that appear on populist nature documentaries who want to make claims that will grab your attention, will say that sharks have remained unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs. It’s wrong. The Mesozoic Era,… Read More ›
Liopleurodon
The middle to late 19th Century can arguably be seen as the glory days of paleontology. While this time frame is often associated with the discovery of dinosaurs and the so-called “Bone Wars” of the American West, discoveries were also… Read More ›
Ophthalmosaurus
Ophthalmosaurus was a 20 foot long ichthyosaur which swam in the oceans around Europe during the middle and late Jurassic Period. It is named after its distinctive large eyes. The coloration in the illustration that you see below is… Read More ›
Archaeopteryx
In a previous post, I talked a little bit about the “raptor” dinosaurs and how they had feathers. Here is a drawing of Archaeopteryx, long reputed to be the earliest-known bird. It lived during the late Jurassic Period in what… Read More ›