Pistosaurus
Pistosaurus is a genus of marine sauropterygian reptiles. It is a Nothosaur, a relative of the plesiosaurs.
| Pistosaurus Temporal range: Mid Triassic
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| Pistosaurus longaevus from the middle Triassic of Europe | |
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| Genus: | Pistosaurus
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Pistosaurus was a advanced nothosaur-like body with a plesiosaur-like head. Is presently known only from the Middle Triassic. Even if it is a nothosaur it is acknowledged to be closely related to the ancestors of plesiosaurs.
The head also resembled that of a plesiosaur, but with the primitive palate[1] of a nothosaur, and numerous, sharp teeth ideal for catching and eating fish.[2]
Although it is unlikely that Pistosaurus was a direct ancestor of the plesiosaurs, the mixture of features suggests that it was closely related to that group.[2]
Pistosaurus Media
- Pistosaurus skull.jpg
Pistosaurus longaevus skull (cast)
- Pistosaurus longaevus from Caldonazzo.JPG
Fossil of Pistosaurus, an extinct reptile- Took the picture at Muse (Trento)