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Plesiosaurs
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| Scientific Classification |
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Plesiosaurs were a group of aquatic reptiles that lived in both
marine and freshwater environments.
They evolved during the
early Jurassic period
or late Triassic period,
from Nothosaurs,
and went extinct during the
Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction.
Plesiosaurs had a broad body, short tail, and four limb flippers. The term "Plesiosaur"
includes the so-called "true Plesiosaurs", which had a long necks, and the
Pliosaurs which had shorter
necks and a larger head. Plesiosaurs varied greatly in size, the adults varying between
10 feet (3 meters) and 66 feet (20 meters) in length, depending on the particular species.
Perhaps the most remarkable are the
family of Plesiosaurs known as "Elasmosauridae", which includes species such
as
Elasmosaurus and
Thalassomedon, who had necks that made up half or more of the length of the creature.
Plesiosaurs are often drawn with their necks positioned upwards
in a swan-like posture. However, this is now thought to be unlikely to be an accurate depiction
- it is thought they necks were probably not flexible enough to
do this, and, in any case, such a posture would probably have tipped them over.
In life, Plesiosaurs are believed to have been the top ("apex") predators of the oceans.
It is thought perhaps they swam slowly below the surface of the water, and then used their
long necks to position to snap up fish or cephalopods. Stones have been found in
the stomach area of some Plesiosaurs (including Thalassomedon), and it is thought perhaps
that these were used as ballast and/or as an aid to digestion (similar to gizzard stones
in modern birds being used to grind up food).
The first recorded Plesiosaur fossils
were found in England - these
include a partial skeleton found by Stukely in Nottinghamshire in 1719,
and others found by
Mary Anning.
As a result of this, an impressive collection of Plesiosaur
fossils are now found in
the
Natural History Museum
and
London.
A number of alleged lake monsters (animals supposedly living in freshwater lakes) are
sometimes claimed to be living Plesiosaurs.
These include
Champ which supposedly lives in Lake Champlain in the
United States,
Ogopogo which supposedly lives in Lake Okanagan in
Canada,
and most famously of all,
Nessie which supposedly lives in Loch Ness in
Scotland.
Mainstream scientists are generally skeptical of these claims
for a variety of reasons including lack of physical evidence,
the lakes are generally too small to support a viable breeding population,
the lakes are often too cold, and
bodies of dead animals have not been found. Cryptozoologists
(people who search for rumored or mythical creatures whose existence is uncertain),
and of course tourists to these areas, however continue to look for these creatures.
Plesiosaurs were marine reptiles that lived between 228 and 65 million years ago
Related Information & Resources
See Also
Plesiosaur Books
Here are some books from Amazon.com:
Disclosure: Products details and descriptions provided by Amazon.com. Our company may receive a payment if you purchase products from them after following a link from this website.
By Kate Moening
Bellwether Media
Released: January 1st, 2023
Paperback (24 pages)
 | Lowest New Price: $8.99*
In Stock*
*(As of 05:12 Pacific 29 Nov 2023 More Info)
Click Here | Description:
Plesiosaurs (Ancient Marine Life)- Manufacturer: Bellwether Media
- EAN: 9798886872200
Details:- Paperback
- Number of Pages: 24
- Author: Kate Moening
- Publication Date: January 1st, 2023
- Release Date: January 1st, 2023
Physical Description:- Size: 8.93 Inches by 7.35 Inches by 0.24 Inches
- Weight: 0.19 Pounds
Click here for more information |
|
By Dr Adam S. Smith
UCLan Publishing
Released: May 6th, 2021
Paperback (32 pages)
 | Lowest New Price: $12.55*
In Stock*
*(As of 05:12 Pacific 29 Nov 2023 More Info)
Click Here | Description:
The Plesiosaur's Neck- Manufacturer: UCLan Publishing
- ISBN: 191297942X
- EAN: 9781912979424
- PartNumber: 9781912979424
Details:- Paperback
- Format: Picture Book
- Number of Pages: 32
- Authors: Dr Adam S. Smith, Jonathan Emmett
- Publication Date: May 6th, 2021
- Release Date: May 6th, 2021
Physical Description:- Size: 9.40943 Inches by 11.0236 Inches by 0.35433 Inches
- Weight: 0.49383546688 Pounds
Click here for more information |
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