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.
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