Nothosaur

Nothosauroidea
Temporal range: Early-Late Triassic, 251–210 Ma Possible late Rhaetian record.
Nothosaurus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Superorder: Sauropterygia
Clade: Eosauropterygia
Order: Nothosauroidea
Baur, 1889
Subgroups

Nothosaurs (superfamily Nothosauroidea) were Triassic marine sauropterygian reptiles. They averaged about 3 metres (10 ft) in length, with a long body and tail.[1] The feet were paddle-like, and are known to have been webbed in life, to help power the animal when swimming.[2] 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.

  1. ^ F. v. Huene. 1956. Paläontologie und Phylogenie der Niederen Tetrapoden [Paleontology and Phylogeny of the Lower Tetrapods]. VEB Gustav Fischer Verlang, Jena 1-716
  2. ^ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 72. ISBN 978-1-84028-152-1.