Liopleurodon
Liopleurodon was a large species of Pliosaur. It was an apex predator in the Upper Jurassic seas, around 160–155 million years ago. It grew up to 6 metres (20 ft) long.[1] It was a relative of Pliosaurus and Kronosaurus. It preyed on other marine animals such as Ophthalmosaurus.
| Liopleurodon Temporal range: Upper Jurassic
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| Liopleurodon ferox | |
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| Genus: | Liopleurodon Sauvage, 1873
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Some fossil remains excavated from the Kimmeridge Clay formation in England indicate a much larger animal, perhaps up to 15 metres (49 ft) long. However, these have not been put in the genus Liopleurodon.[2]
Liopleurodon's nose allowed it to smell underwater. It could smell prey from some distance away. Despite needing to breath air, Liopleurodon spent its entire life at sea and was unable to leave the water. Consequently, it would have given birth to its young alive and may have visited shallower water to breed.
Species
- L. ferox (type)
- L. pachydeirus
- L. rossicus
- L. macromerus
Liopleurodon Media
NMB L.D.37, the holotype tooth crown of Ischyrodon merino; in (A) mesial, (B) lingual, (C) apical, (D) labial, and (E) distal view
Reconstruction of the skull of L. ferox
Size comparison of Liopleurodon ferox based on the specimen CAMSM J.27424. Note that while large, this specimen is estimated to be slightly smaller than the more complete NHMUK R3536.
Fossil of Liopleurodon - Took the picture at Goldfuß Museum, Bonn University
Liopleurodon reconstruction based on skeletal from Newman and Tarlo (1967)
References
- ↑ Noè, Leslie F; Jeff Liston and Mark Evans (2003). "The first relatively complete exoccipital-opisthotic from the braincase of the Callovian pliosaur, Liopleurodon". Geological Magazine. UK: Cambridge University Press. 140 (4): 479–486. Bibcode:2003GeoM..140..479N. doi:10.1017/S0016756803007829. S2CID 22915279.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Forrest, Richard (2007). "Liopleurodon". The Plesiosaur Site. Archived from the original on 2009-01-22. Retrieved 2009-06-07.