Prehistoric life
Plesiosauria includes the large, carnivorous, marine reptiles the Plesiosaurs and Pliosaurs. They used their flippers to propel themselves through the water, rather like a turtle except that they used both the front and rear flippers. Scientists were intrigued to find that using all four flippers didn't make them faster. In fact, the opposite was true, as turbulence from the front flippers interfered with the efficiency of the rear flippers. However, four flippers did make it easier to get going and brake. So while Plesiosaurs and Pliosaurs may not have been ultra-speedy, they would have been agile and quick to react to passing prey.
Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.
Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web
Discover the other animals and plants that lived during the following geological time periods.
Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinctionPlesiosauria ( /ˌpliːsi.ɵˈsɔriə/; Greek: plesios meaning 'near to' and sauros meaning 'lizard') is an order of Mesozoic marine reptiles. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the Early Jurassic (and possibly Rhaetian, latest Triassic) Period and became especially common during the Jurassic Period, thriving until the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period.
The name "plesiosaur" is used to refer to the order Plesiosauria as a whole, not only to the long-necked forms (suborder Plesiosauroidea). These latter constitute the plesiosaurs in the popular imagination ("Nessie", "Nahuelito").
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