Nothosaurus
Nothosaurus was a marine reptile that lived in the Triassic Period, about 245 to 210 million years ago. It looked a bit like a seal with a long tail and webbed feet, and it swam in warm seas that covered much of the world. It was not a dinosaur, but a different kind of reptile called a sauropterygian.12
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
as long as 7 dogs nose to tail🍌as long as 39 bananas end to end🏊could swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 8.2 secondsHow big was Nothosaurus compared to YOU?
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Fun facts
Nothosaurus had webbed toes and probably a fin on its tail to help it swim, much like a modern seal.1
Some Nothosaurus fossils show that they gave birth to live young, not eggs. This is called vivipary.1
The name Nothosaurus means 'false lizard' because early scientists thought it was a lizard, but it was actually a marine reptile.1
Nothosaurus lived in the Tethys Ocean, a huge sea that existed between the continents of the Triassic Period.1
Trackways from China suggest Nothosaurus used its paddles to dig into the seabed to find hidden prey.1
Nothosaurus had a closed palate, which means it could breathe while holding food in its mouth underwater.2
Most asked questions about Nothosaurus
?How big was Nothosaurus?
Most Nothosaurus species were about 4 metres (13 feet) long, but some like N. zhangi and N. giganteus could reach 5 to 7 metres (16 to 23 feet).1
?What did Nothosaurus eat?
It ate fish and other marine creatures, using its long jaws lined with needle teeth to catch them. It may have also snapped up crustaceans and worms hiding in the seabed mud.13
?Could Nothosaurus swim?
Yes, it was a semi-oceanic swimmer that used its tail, legs, and webbed feet to propel and steer through the water, much like a seal.1
?When did Nothosaurus live?
Nothosaurus lived during the Triassic Period, about 245 to 228 million years ago.1
?Where did Nothosaurus live?
Its fossils have been found in Europe, North Africa, and China, in areas that were once part of the warm Tethys Ocean.12
?Is Nothosaurus a dinosaur?
No, Nothosaurus is not a dinosaur. It is a different kind of reptile called a sauropterygian, which is a group distinct from lizards and snakes.12
?How fast could Nothosaurus swim?
Probably up to about 22 km/h (14 mph) in the water, about as fast as a grown-up riding a bike. This is an estimate. It swam by swishing its body and using its legs, a bit like a seal.2
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Myth buster
Myth: Nothosaurus is often mistaken for a dinosaur.
Truth: Nothosaurus was a marine reptile called a sauropterygian, not a dinosaur. Dinosaurs lived on land and had different body features.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Nothosaurus
- Named by
- Münster 18344
- Group
- Sea reptiles
- Family / clade
- Nothosauridae4
- Classification
- Sauropterygia4
- Age of the rocks
- 251 to 201 million years ()4
- Rock formations
- Jena, Erfurt, Karlstadt4
- Countries
- Germany, Israel, China, Netherlands, Italy, Spain4
- Fossil records
- 103 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Also known as
- Dracosaurus, Elmosaurus, Kolposaurus, Opeosaurus, Paranothosaurus, Shingyisaurus (older names now counted as the same animal)4
- Discovery
- Nothosaurus was named in 1834 by Georg Graf zu Münster based on fossils from the Muschelkalk of Germany. The type species is Nothosaurus mirabilis.14
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Nothosaurus swam, whether it used its tail and limbs together or mainly its body undulations.12
Where the facts come from
- Nothosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Nothosaurus | Triassic, Marine, Reptile | Britannica (britannica.com)
- Nothosaur foraging tracks from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China | Nature Communications (nature.com)
- Nothosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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