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Nothosauroids
Nothosaurs (superfamily Nothosauroidea) were Triassic marine sauropterygian reptiles. They averaged about in length, with a long body and tail. The feet were paddle-like, and are known to have been webbed in life, to help power the animal when swimming. The neck was quite long, and the head was elongated and flattened, and relatively small in relation to the body. The margins of the long jaws were equipped with numerous sharp outward-pointing teeth, indicating a diet of fish and squid. Taxonomy The Nothosauroidea has been suggested to consist of two suborders, the Pachypleurosauria, which are small primitive forms, and the Nothosauria (including two families Nothosauridae and Simosauridae), which may have evolved from pachypleurosaurs. The relation of pachypleurosaurs to Nothosauroidea is uncertain, as several analyses recover the clade as basal to Eusauropterygia, e.i. the clade formed by Nothosauria and Pistosauroidea, instead as the sister taxon of Nothosauria. Many recent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simosauridae
''Simosaurus'' is an extinct genus of marine reptile within the superorder Sauropterygia from the Middle Triassic of central Europe. Fossils have been found in deposits in France and Germany that are roughly 230 million years old. It is usually classified as a nothosaur, but has also been considered a pachypleurosaur or a more primitive form of sauropterygia. Description ''Simosaurus'' grew from in length. It has a blunt, flattened head and large openings behind its eyes called upper temporal fossae. These fossae are larger than the eye sockets but not as big as those of other nothosaurs. ''Simosaurus'' also differs from other nothosaurs in that it has blunt teeth that were probably used for crushing hard-shelled organisms. The jaw joint is set far back, projecting beyond the main portion of the skull. History The type species of ''Simosaurus'', ''S. gaillardoti'', was named by German paleontologist Christian Erich Hermann von Meyer in 1842.H. von Meyer, (1842). ''Simosaurus' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
