Augustasaurus

Name: Augustasaurus ‭(‬Augusta lizard‭ ‬-‭ ‬after the Augusta Mountains‭)‬.
Phonetic: Or-gus-tah-sore-us.
Named By: Sander et al.‭ ‬-‭ ‬1997.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Sauropterygia,‭ ‬Pistosauroidea.
Species: A.‭ ‬hagdorni‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Piscivore.
Size: Roughly about 2.5 to 3 meters long.
Known locations: USA,‭ ‬Nevada,‭ ‬Augusta Mountains‭ ‬-‭ ‬Favret Formation.
Time period: Anisian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Skull and post cranial remains.

       Augustasaurus was the second member of‭ ‬the‭ ‬Pistosauroidea group of Triassic marine reptiles discovered.‭ ‬Given that the first‭ (‬and currently only‭ ‬other‭ ‬of known‭) ‬member of the group,‭ ‬Pistosaurus,‭ ‬is known from Europe,‭ ‬this reveals that the pistosauroid sauropterygians‭ ‬had at least a reasonable geographic range.‭ ‬Like with Pistosaurus,‭ ‬Augustasaurus resembles early plesiosaur forms,‭ ‬although it is not thought to be a plesiosaur itself.‭ ‬Augustasaurus is however seen to be a more advanced form of pistosaurid than Pistosaurus.

Further reading
The skull of the pistosaur Augustasaurus from the middle triassic of northwestern Nevada. - Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. - O. Rieppel, P. M. Sander & G. W. Storrs - 1997.



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