† Asceptosaurus | ||||||||||||
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| Askeptosaurus italicus | ||||||||||||
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Asceptosaurus is a genus of reptiles from the order of talattosaurs ( diapsid group). Skull low, with elongated postorbital part. The eyes are large, protected by sclerotic rings, perfectly seen in the dark at great depths. The forearm and lower leg are greatly shortened. Inhabited the sea, crawling out to land only to lay eggs . The asceptosaurus had a slender body with a long neck and elongated toothy jaws . He probably swam, wriggling in waves in the water, like a snake or eel, and helping himself with webbed feet. The fish served as food, for which the lizard, apparently, could dive quite deeply.
- Lifetime - Middle Triassic, about 220 million years ago
- Find Location - Europe
- Length - 3 m
- Weight - 45 kg
Asceptosaurus is an extinct genus of the prehistoric detachment of talattosaurs. Their fossils and evidence of existence have been found in areas that are now Italy and Switzerland. It is believed that he lived during the Middle Triassic, about 247 to 225 million years ago. A morphological analysis of its short extremities and extended pharynxia suggests that this species is adapted to the coastal marine environment. His webbed feet helped control the water. It is believed that his slender body and long tail contribute to water locomotion. Judging by the elongated jaws and cleft palate, the main food source was fish. Typical features of the talatosaurs are an elongated premaxilla and a relatively large muzzle, as well as a small or absent superior temporal opening. The reconstruction of the skull of the asceptosaurus corresponds to the previously listed signs: the asceptosaurus had a very thin and flattened skull. The snout was significantly elongated, the orbits were relatively large, and the back of the skull was deeply distinguished. Asceptosaurus premaxilla is almost twice as long as the skull (maximum length is 26 cm (10.2 inches) among the samples studied) and makes up more than a third of the dentition in the upper jaw. However, the asceptosaurus also had the following traits different from the non-aseptosauroid talatosaurs:
1. Lack of merger between postorbital and postfrontal.
2. The presence of a homogeneous dentition.
3. Lack of diastema and palatine dentition.
4. The presence of low nerve processes.
5. The presence of a thin radius.