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Sauropterygians were a diverse group of aquatic reptiles adapted for flipper-based aquatic locomotion. This group included the plesiosaurs, nothosaurs, and placodonts. Mosasaurs were a group of large, aquatic squamates (relatives of modern-day lizards and snakes) which became the dominant marine predators towards the end of the Cretaceous period.
Following is a list of marine reptiles, reptiles which are adapted to life in marine or brackish environments. This list is incomplete ; you can help by adding missing items . ( August 2008 )
[97] [98] The large Triassic form Thalattoarchon had large, bladed teeth and was probably a macropredator, capable of killing prey its own size, [99] and Himalayasaurus and several species of Temnodontosaurus also shared adaptations for killing very large prey. [100] These food preferences have been confirmed by coproliths which indeed contain ...
The Mesozoic marine revolution (MMR) refers to the increase in shell-crushing (durophagous) and boring predation in benthic organisms throughout the Mesozoic era (251 Mya to 66 Mya), along with bulldozing and sediment remodelling in marine habitats. [1] The term was first coined by Geerat J. Vermeij, [2] who based his work on that of Steven M ...
Sauropterygia ("lizard flippers") is an extinct taxon of diverse, aquatic reptiles that developed from terrestrial ancestors soon after the end-Permian extinction and flourished during the Triassic before all except for the Plesiosauria became extinct at the end of that period. The plesiosaurs would continue to diversify until the end of the ...
The additional weight may have stabilized the animal at the water's surface. Alternatively, it could have given Mesosaurus greater momentum when gliding underwater. [17] While many features suggest a wholly aquatic lifestyle, [17] Mesosaurus may have been able to move onto land for short periods of time. Its elbows and ankles were restricted in ...
Most phytosaurs are thought to be aquatic animals, and indeed most do show adaptations for such a lifestyle; swim tracks attributed to phytosaurs, for example, are known. [14] However, at least Nicrosaurus seems to have evolved towards a secondarily terrestrial lifestyle, developing longer limb bones, straighter femora and a deeper pelvis, and ...
Historically there has been uncertainty as to why natural selection favored the development of these features, which are very important for active warm-blooded creatures, but of little apparent use to cold-blooded aquatic ambush predators that spend the vast majority of their time floating in water or lying on river banks.