Besanosaurus
Besanosaurus was a huge, dolphin-like marine reptile that swam in warm, shallow seas during the Triassic Period. It had a very long, slender snout and small teeth, perfect for snapping up fish and squid. Even though it looked like a dinosaur, it was actually an ichthyosaur, a different group of ancient reptiles.12
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Fun facts
Besanosaurus lived about 247 to 237 million years ago, during the Middle Triassic Period.3
The first complete skeleton of Besanosaurus was discovered in 1993 in a quarry near Besano, Italy.2
Besanosaurus had four flippers instead of legs, and a fin on its tail to help it swim.1
One fossil of Besanosaurus contains the remains of an embryo inside, showing that these reptiles gave birth to live young, not eggs.1
Scientists once thought a similar fossil was a different animal called Mikadocephalus, but now they think it is actually Besanosaurus.2
Besanosaurus had a very long, thin snout and tiny teeth, which it used to snap up small, fast prey.1
The Besano Formation where Besanosaurus was found was once a lagoon with many other ichthyosaurs, each using different hunting methods to avoid competition.1
Most asked questions about Besanosaurus
?How big was Besanosaurus?
About 8 metres (26 feet) long, making it the largest ichthyosaur in its environment.124
?What did Besanosaurus eat?
It ate small fish and squid-like animals called coleoid cephalopods, catching them with quick, snapping bites.1
?Did Besanosaurus have live babies?
Yes, it gave birth to live young. One fossil even has an embryo inside its chest.1
?Is Besanosaurus a dinosaur?
No, it is an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Besanosaurus
- Named by
- Dal Sasso and Pinna 19965
- Group
- Ichthyosaurs
- Family / clade
- Besanosauridae5
- Classification
- Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha5
- Age of the rocks
- 247 to 237 million years ()5
- Rock formations
- Monte San Giorgio bituminous shales5
- Countries
- Switzerland5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Besanosaurus was named by Italian paleontologists Cristiano Dal Sasso and Giovanni Pinna in 1996. The first complete skeleton was found in 1993 in the Sasso Caldo quarry near Besano, Italy.32
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating how Besanosaurus and other shastasaurid ichthyosaurs are related to each other.1
Where the facts come from
- Besanosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Cranial anatomy of Besanosaurus leptorhynchus Dal Sasso & Pinna, 1996 (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio, Italy/Switzerland: taxonomic and palaeobiological implications [PeerJ] (peerj.com)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Postcranial anatomy of Besanosaurus leptorhynchus (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria) from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation of Monte San Giorgio (Italy/Switzerland), with implications for reconstructing the swimming styles of Triassic ichthyosaurs | Swiss Journal of Palaeontology | Springer Nature Link (link.springer.com)
- Besanosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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