Ceresiosaurus ( lat. Ceresiosaurus ) is a genus of extinct reptiles from the superorder of sauroterigia , the order of synaptosaurs , and the suborder of notosaurs .
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 Petrified skeleton of the species Ceresiosaurus calcagnii | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Ceresiosaurus ( Peyer , 1839 ) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Content
Discovery and taxonomy
The name of the ceresiosaurus means “Lizard from Ceresio” (Ceresio ( Italian: Ceresio ) is the Italian name for the Swiss lake of Lugano ). The remains of a ceresiosaurus are found in Europe , the paleontologist Bernhard Peyer first found them in 1931 , on Mount San Giorgio . Specifically, the species whose remains he discovered, he described and named Ceresiosaurus calcagni . In subsequent years, until 2004, eight more specimens were found, which prompted experts to the existence of another species - Ceresiosaurus lanzi [1] .
The ceresiosaurus belongs to the notosaurus [1] , and is a close (but at the same time much larger) relative of the lariosaurus . The scientist Olivier Rippel even considers the ceresiosaurus a synonym for this genus [2] .
General information
This animal lived on our planet in the Middle Triassic , about 240-230 million years ago [3] , in Western European lakes [4] .
Ceresiosaurus was one of the largest notosaurs: its total length was 3-4 meters. It looked rather ridiculous [3] , it had an unusual structure: a long muscular tail [4] , and its paws turned into long fins [3] with elongated phalanges of the fingers, resembling the fins of subsequently appearing plesiosaurs [5] . His head was very tiny, the skull, being the shortest skull among all notosaurs, was about one tenth of the total length of the animal, while the neck was one quarter. The body and tail accounted for one third of the total length [3] .
The ceresiosaurus moved, serpentinely bending its body and helping itself with limbs [3] , which he moved, probably in a way similar to modern penguins . Its tail served as a steering wheel and allowed you to quickly change the direction of movement [1] .
Studies have shown that a ceresiosaurus weighed about 80 kilograms. In the breeding season, females of the Ceresiosaurus went ashore to lay eggs there and buried in the sand, despite the fact that on land the Ceresiosaurs were slow and could only crawl like seals [1] .
There were special glands in the nostrils of the ceresiosaurs that helped to remove excess salt from the airways that got there when moving in water. He got rid of salt, sneezing when swimming, which allowed to maintain normal salt metabolism in the body [1] .
The remains of a smaller marine reptile, a pachypleurosaurus , were found in the stomach of the ceresiosaurs, which gives confidence in the theory that the ceresiosaurus was a very agile swimmer [4] . He also ate fish. He probably caught her like this: at first he opened his mouth wide, the fish, along with a large amount of water, got there, then he covered his teeth, thereby leaving narrow slits through which water flowed back. At the same time, the fish remained and was later swallowed [1] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Ceresiosaurus - a hybrid lizard . whatafy.com . Archived on September 14, 2013.
- ↑ Olivier Rieppel, The status of the sauropterygian reptile genera Ceresiosaurus, Lariosaurus, and Silvestrosaurus from the Middle Triassic of Europe , “Fieldiana. Geology ”, ns, n. 38, 1998, pp.1–46 [1]
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 I Know the World: The History of Life on Earth / Pintal T. Yu. - M .: Publishing House AST, 2004. - P. 200. - 512 p. - ISBN 5-17-024940-3 .
- ↑ 1 2 3 Ceresiosaurus by Bob Strauss . dinosaurs.about.com . Archived on September 14, 2013.
- ↑ The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals / Palmer, D .. - London: Marshall Editions, 1999. - P. 73. - ISBN 1-84028-152-9 .
Literature
- Dixon, Dougal. “The Complete Book of Dinosaurs.” Hermes House, 2006.
Links
- Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ceresiosaurus
- Ceresiosaurus at palaeos.com