Meyerasaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids MeyerasaurusTemporal range: Lower Jurassic
183–180 mya |
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| The holotype in the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart | |
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†Meyerasaurus
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Meyerasaurus is an extinct genus of plesiosaur. An almost complete fossil was found in Holzmaden, Baden-Württemberg, southeastern Germany. It was a medium-sized, 3.35 m (11.0 ft) long, pliosaur.
The specimen was collected from shale over 150 years ago. The shale dates to the early Jurassic, about 183–180 million years ago (mya). The specimen was described as a species of Plesiosaurus a hundred years ago. It got its new name in 2010.
Most members of its family, the Rhomaleosauridae, have been found in England. They were found in the lower Blue Lias deposits which date to the earliest Jurassic, just above the boundary with the Triassic.
Description
Meyerasaurus is known from the holotype SMNS 12478, articulated and complete skeleton which preserved the skull, exposed in ventral view. The skull has a length of 37 cm (15 in), and the animal is about 3.35 m (11.0 ft) in length. It was collected from the Harpoceras elegantulum-falciferum ammonoid subzones, Harpoceras falcifer zone, of the famous Posidonien-Schiefer lagerstätte (Posidonia Shale), dating to the early Toarcian stage of the Early Jurassic, about 183-180 million years ago.
See also
In Spanish: Meyerasaurus para niños
