Pliosaur

Introduction

Pliosaurs were aquatic carnivorous reptiles, not dinosaurs, that lived between 220 and 70 million years ago. This pliosaur has not yet been named scientifically but may be a specimen of Yuzhoupliosaurus chengjiangensis.

Identification

Pliosaurs had:

• large, sharp, serrated teeth for catching prey;
• lungs for breathing air;
• modified paddle-like limbs (like those of a penguin) which they used to swim through the water.

Fossils description

Yuzhoupliosaurus chengjiangensis was named after the place where it was discovered - Chongqing - which was known as Yuzhou in ancient times.

Evolutionary relationships

Pliosaurs are short-necked plesiosaurs. They are more closely related to lizards and snakes than to dinosaurs and birds.