Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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.
The Mesozoic Era [3] is the era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods.It is characterized by the dominance of gymnosperms such as cycads, ginkgoaceae and araucarian conifers, and of archosaurian reptiles such as the dinosaurs; a hot greenhouse climate; and the tectonic break-up of Pangaea.
Many of the so-called 'dinosaur' remains found on New Zealand are actually mosasaurs and plesiosaurs [citation needed], both being Mesozoic predatory marine reptiles. The largest mosasaur currently on public display is Bruce, a 65-70%-complete specimen of Tylosaurus pembinensis dating from the late Cretaceous Period, approximately 80 million ...
The flipper arrangement is unusual for aquatic animals in that probably all four limbs were used to propel the animal through the water by up-and-down movements. The tail was most likely only used for helping in directional control. This contrasts to the ichthyosaurs and the later mosasaurs, in which the tail provided the main propulsion. [65]
A Mesozoic reptile is believed to have been the largest flying animal that ever existed: the pterosaur Quetzalcoatlus northropi, from North America during the late Cretaceous. This species is believed to have weighed up to 126 kg (278 lb), measured 7.9 m (26 ft) in total length (including a neck length of over 3 m (9.8 ft)) and measured up to ...
Largest specimen of Leedsichthys compared to other Pachycormid fish. Leedsichthys is the largest known member of the Osteichthyes or bony fishes. [20] The largest extant non-tetrapodomorph bony fish is the ocean sunfish, Mola mola, being with a weight of up to two tonnes an order of magnitude smaller than Leedsichthys.
Many temnospondyls are much larger than living amphibians, and superficially resemble crocodiles, which has led many taxa to be named with the suffix -suchus.The largest taxa, which were predominantly the Mesozoic stereospondyls, had skulls exceeding one meter in length, and the entire animal would have been several meters in length (for reference, the largest living amphibian, Andrias, is ...
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 ...