Pistosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids PistosaurusTemporal range: Mid Triassic
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| Pistosaurus longaevus from the middle Triassic of Europe | |
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Pistosauridae
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Pistosaurus
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Pistosaurus is a genus of marine sauropterygian reptiles. It is a Nothosaur, a relative of the plesiosaurs.
Pistosaurus was a advanced nothosaur-like body with a plesiosaur-like head. Is presently known only from the Middle Triassic. Even if it is a nothosaur it is acknowledged to be closely related to the ancestors of plesiosaurs.
The head also resembled that of a plesiosaur, but with the primitive palate of a nothosaur, and numerous, sharp teeth ideal for catching and eating fish.
Although it is unlikely that Pistosaurus was a direct ancestor of the plesiosaurs, the mixture of features suggests that it was closely related to that group.
Images for kids
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Pistosaurus longaevus skull (cast)
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Restoration of Pistosaurus longaevus
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Limb bone
See also
In Spanish: Pistosaurus para niños
