Simosaurus
Name:
Simosaurus.
Phonetic: Sim-oh-sor-us.
Named By: Meyer - 1842.
Synonyms: Nothosaurus mougeoti,
Simosaurus guilelmi, Simosaurus mougeoti.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Sauropterygia, Nothosauroidea, Simosauridae.
Species: O. gaillardoti
(type).
Diet: Durophagovore?
Size: Roughly between 3 to 4 meters long.
Known locations: France. Germany - Erfurt
Formation, Muschelkalk Formation, Raibl Formation. Italy -
Rio del Lago Formation.
Time period: Mid/Late Triassic.
Fossil representation: Several individuals.
Usually
seen as a nothosaur,
Simosaurus was a marine reptile that lived in
European waters during the Triassic. The teeth of Simosaurus
are
quite blunt and while the jaws of Simosaurus are
quite gracile, the
way the muscles attached show that they could be closed very quickly.
It is possible that Simosaurus used quick but
proportionately powerful
bites to crack up the shells of invertebrates like ammonites,
especially those with thinner shells.
Further reading
- Osteology of Simosaurus gaillardoti and the
relationships of
stem-group Sauropterygia. - Fieldiana Geology. 28: 1–85. -
O. Rieppel - 1994.
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