Augustasaurus

Say it: aw-GUST-uh-SORE-us

Name means: “Augusta lizard”1

Ate: FishOther sea reptilesMiddle TriassicNot technically a dinosaur

Augustasaurus was a marine reptile that lived in the ocean during the Middle Triassic, about 244 to 242 million years ago. It had a long neck, a small head, and fang-like teeth for catching fish and squid. It was an early relative of the famous plesiosaurs.1

Fun fact: this sea reptile swam while dinosaurs walked on land. Everyone calls them dinos, but they were a different branch of reptiles.

Lived

243 to 241 million years ago2

Middle Triassic

Fossils found in

Nevada, USA1 2

Food

Fish1

Length

2.5 to 3 m1

Weight

100 kg1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 1.5 bicycles in a rowas long as 17 bananas end to endas heavy as 3 big dogsas heavy as 20 watermelons

How big was Augustasaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Augustasaurus is the only sauropterygian (a group of marine reptiles) found in the Favret Formation in Nevada.1

Its name comes from the Augusta Mountains in Nevada, where its fossils were discovered.1

Augustasaurus had a skull with tall, blade-like upper temporal arches, similar to its relative Pistosaurus.1

The first fossil of Augustasaurus was found in 1993 and was partly destroyed by weathering before scientists could study it.1

Scientists think Augustasaurus is an ancestor of plesiosaurs, the long-necked marine reptiles that lived later.1

Augustasaurus lived in a warm, shallow sea that was home to many ichthyosaurs, including the large predator Thalattoarchon.1

AI-made picture of Augustasaurus — An AI-made picture of how Augustasaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Augustasaurus

?How big was Augustasaurus?

Augustasaurus was about 2.5 to 3 metres (8.2 to 9.8 feet) long and weighed around 100 kilograms (220 pounds).1

?What did Augustasaurus eat?

Augustasaurus ate fish and squid, using its long neck, small head, and fang-like teeth to catch them.1

?Was Augustasaurus a dinosaur?

No, Augustasaurus was not a dinosaur. It was a marine reptile called a sauropterygian, closely related to plesiosaurs.1

?When did Augustasaurus live?

Augustasaurus lived during the Middle Triassic, about 244 to 242 million years ago.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Augustasaurus
Named by: Sander and et al 19972
Group: Other sea reptiles
Family / clade: Pistosauria2
Classification: Sauropterygia2
Age of the rocks: 243 to 241 million years ()2
Rock formations: Favret2
Countries: USA2
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Augustasaurus was named in 1997 by paleontologists Paul Martin Sander, Olivier Rieppel, and Hugo Bucher. The first fossil, a partial skeleton, was found in 1993 in the Augusta Mountains of Nevada, USA.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating whether Augustasaurus is more closely related to Pistosaurus or to the true plesiosaurs.1

Where the facts come from

Augustasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Augustasaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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