Colymbosaurus
Colymbosaurus was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that swam in the seas with a long neck and flippers. It was not a dinosaur, but a fierce hunter of the ocean.5
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
as long as 6 dogs nose to tail🍌as long as 33 bananas end to end🏊could swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 6.7 secondsHow big was Colymbosaurus compared to YOU?
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Fun facts
Colymbosaurus lived from about 168 to 113 million years ago, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.5
It belonged to a group called Cryptoclididae, which were plesiosaurs with long necks and small heads.1
There were at least two valid species: Colymbosaurus megadeirus and Colymbosaurus svalbardensis.1
Colymbosaurus trochanterius is not considered a valid species, but some fossils are still referred to Colymbosaurus.1
Fossils have been found in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation in the UK, which was a shallow sea at the time.1
Colymbosaurus was actively mobile and lived in the water, likely swimming near the surface.5
Most asked questions about Colymbosaurus
?What did Colymbosaurus eat?
It was a carnivore, meaning it ate meat, such as fish and other sea creatures. It lived in the ocean and was a skilled hunter.5
?How big was Colymbosaurus?
Scientists are not sure of its exact size, but it was a medium-sized plesiosaur. It had a long neck and flippers for swimming.3
?Where was Colymbosaurus found?
Fossils have been found in the UK and Svalbard, Norway. They come from rocks that were once a shallow sea.43
?Is Colymbosaurus a dinosaur?
No, it is a plesiosaur, which is a marine reptile that lived in the sea. It is not a dinosaur.3
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Colymbosaurus was a dinosaur.
Truth: Colymbosaurus was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile, not a dinosaur.5
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Colymbosaurus
- Named by
- Seeley 18745
- Group
- Plesiosaurs
- Family / clade
- Cryptoclididae5
- Classification
- Plesiosauria > Sauropterygia5
- Age of the rocks
- 168 to 113 million years (Bathonian / Aptian)5
- Rock formations
- Kimmeridge Clay, Portland Stone, Agardhfjellet5
- Countries
- United Kingdom, Norway, France, Russia5
- Fossil records
- 18 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Colymbosaurus was named by Harry Seeley in 1874 based on fossils from the UK.5
- Still debated
- Scientists debate which species belong to Colymbosaurus, because some fossils are incomplete and hard to compare.1
Where the facts come from
- Anatomy of Colymbosaurus megadeirus (Reptilia, Plesiosauria) from the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of the U.K., and high diversity among Late Jurassic plesiosauroids (tandfonline.com)
- The Colymbosaurus-Kimmerosaurus Controversy – DINOSAURS AND BARBARIANS (dinosaursandbarbarians.com)
- Colymbosaurus – Plesiosaur Directory (plesiosauria.com)
- Colymbosaurus (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
- Colymbosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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