Liopleurodon

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Robinson, J, A. 1975. The locomotion of plesiosaurs. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie un Paläontologie – Abhandlungen, 149, 286–332. Although the Liopleurodon was a giant animal, it was not as big as the Australian giant Kronosaurus, which had a maximum length of 36 feet.

Over the years, several findings established the existence of the Liopleurodon during the Jurassic period, but all these were still uncommon knowledge for a while.

Dimensions

This made them conclude that the Liopleurodon had an average length of 16-23 feet. Gage Beasley Prehistoric’s Liopleurodon Size Comparison Chart O’Keefe, F. R. 2002. The evolution of plesiosaur and pliosaur morphotypes in the Plesiosauria (Reptilia: Sauropterygia). Palaeobiology, 28(1), 101-112. Historically, the first plesiosaurs existed about 203 million years ago, during the Late Triassic period, and became prominent during the Jurassic Era.

From its physical characteristics to its behavior, diet, and more, it is evident that the Liopleurodon was a formidable animal.

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Liopleurodon were aquatic reptiles that constituted a significant part of the ecosystem about 160 million years ago.

We know Halstead attributed the reconstruction to Liopleurodon in 1982 (Halstead 1982), so we can be reasonably confident the reconstruction was based on material regarded by him as Liopleurodon at that time, which would have included the lectotype of ‘ Stretosaurus‘. It would also make sense for Tarlo to use the ‘Stretham Pliosaur’ specimen in the Newman & Tarlo reconstruction for two other reasons. First, he described and was intimately familiar with it (Tarlo, 1957, 1959, 1960), and second, in Tarlo’s words, “The Streatham specimen is one of the most important Pliosaur[sic] skeletons to have come out of the Kimeridge [sic][and]…most of the post-cranial skeleton can be described” (Tarlo 1959, p. 41). And, of course, the specimen certainly fulfils the criterion of “other giant pliosaur remains” as stipulated by Newman and Tarlo. A highly recommended online toy store featuring a wide variety of Papo, Schleich, Safari Ltd., CollectA, and other figures. The study of Liopleurodon is a means to understand the marine ecosystem of the Jurassic period precisely and the Mesozoic Era as a whole. FAQs Was Liopleurodon Bigger than Mosasaurus?

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McHenry (2009) suggested that the reconstruction “ may have been based upon StretosaurusTarlo, 1959″ (p.258) and added that “From vertebral counts of the different body segments and general proportions of the skull it undoubtedly represents a large pliosaurid, perhaps‘ Stretosaurus’( Pliosaurus macromerus)” (p. 370). McHenry also noted that “Tarlo… seemed to imply that the reconstruction was partly based upon the Stretham specimen…”(p.359), and subsequently refers to the reconstruction as the “‘Newman and Tarlo Stretosaurus‘ reconstruction, or the ‘ Stretosaurus’ reconstruction” (e.g. p. 370) and says the reconstruction is “ apparently based upon the Stewartby and Stretham specimens” (p. 370). I’ve bolded key parts to highlight that there’s no direct evidence for this assertion – not that I disagree with it. Although it is hard to determine the lifespan of this creature, Liopleurodon likely lived quite long, like several reptiles we see today.

While paleontologists had concluded that the Liopleurodon had a maximum length of 25 feet, the series portrayed the animal as long as 80 feet. Although the initial fossil discoveries were centered around dinosaurs, other creatures were soon discovered, all of which gave researchers an insight into the prehistoric era.

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The Liopleurodon genus of the Pliosauridae family were marine reptiles that dominated the marine ecosystem during the Jurassic period almost 160 million years ago. They remained at the top of the food chain until the Cretaceous period, which ushered in a more powerful species that likely led to their decline and ultimate disappearance. During that time, i.e., the Jurassic period, a more substantial portion of western Europe was covered with shallow waters inhabited by plesiosaurs and pliosaurs.