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A Triassic Aquatic Protorosaur with an Extremely Long Neck

2004; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 305; Issue: 5692 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1126/science.1100498

1095-9203

Chun Li, Olivier Rieppel, Michael LaBarbera,

Ichthyology and Marine Biology

By Middle Triassic time, a number of reptile lineages had diversified in shallow epicontinental seas and intraplatform basins along the margins of parts of Pangea, including the giraffe-necked protorosaurid reptile Tanystropheus from the Western Tethys (Europe and the Middle East), which grew to approximately 5 to 6 m long. Here we report another long-necked fossil, Dinocephalosaurus, from southwestern China, recently collected in Middle Triassic marine deposits approximately 230 million years old. This taxon represents unambiguous evidence for a fully aquatic protorosaur. Its extremely elongated neck is explained as an adaptation for aquatic life, perhaps for an increase in feeding efficiency.