Aphrosaurus

Name: Aphrosaurus ‭(‬Sea-foam lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Af-roe-sore-us.
Named By: Welles‭ ‬-‭ ‬1943.‭
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Plesiosauria,‭ ‬Elasmosauridae.
Species: A.‭ ‬furlongi‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore.
Size: Estimate around‭ ‬10‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: USA,‭ ‬California‭ ‬-‭ ‬Moreno Formation.
Time period: Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial post cranial remains,‭ ‬including juvenile remains.

       Aphrosaurus seems to have been a middle sized lightweight elasmosaurid plesiosaur.‭ ‬Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs‭ (‬those similar to Elasmosaurus‭) ‬are known for having proportionately long legs,‭ ‬and like with others,‭ ‬half of the total length of Aphrosaurus was neck.‭ ‬This neck was one of the primary feeding adaptations that would have allowed it to reach for fish.‭ ‬It’s probable that Aphrosaurus also had long thin teeth for piercing the bodies of fish,‭ ‬although this idea is based upon comparison to other elasmosaurid plesiosaurs since so far there is no known skull material for Aphrosaurus.


Further reading
- Elasmosaurid plesiosaurs with description of new material from California and Colorado. - Memoirs of the University of California 13:125-254 - S. P. Welles - 1943.




----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Random favourites