Corosaurus
Corosaurus was an ancient marine reptile that swam in the seas of Wyoming during the Early Triassic, about 247 million years ago. It looked a bit like a long-bodied lizard with flippers and was a fierce hunter of small sea creatures.1
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Fun facts
Corosaurus is a close relative of plesiosaurs, the long-necked marine reptiles that lived later in the dinosaur age.2
The first Corosaurus fossil was found in the Alcova Limestone Formation in Wyoming and named by paleontologist Ermine Cowles Case in 1936.1
Corosaurus lived during the Early Triassic, just a few million years after the biggest mass extinction in Earth's history.1
Scientists think Corosaurus was a planktonic suspension feeder, meaning it may have filtered tiny floating organisms from the water.3
The largest Corosaurus individuals could grow over 4 meters (13 feet) long, about as long as a small car.1
Most asked questions about Corosaurus
?How big was Corosaurus?
Corosaurus ranged from about 1.65 meters (5.4 feet) for the holotype to over 4 meters (13 feet) for larger individuals, about as long as a small car.1
?When did Corosaurus live?
Corosaurus lived during the Early Triassic, about 247.4 to 245 million years ago, in what is now Wyoming, United States.1
?Is Corosaurus a dinosaur?
No, Corosaurus is a marine reptile called a pistosauroid, not a dinosaur. It is a close relative of plesiosaurs, which lived later.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Corosaurus
- Named by
- Case 19363
- Group
- Sea reptiles
- Family / clade
- Eosauropterygia3
- Classification
- Sauropterygia3
- Age of the rocks
- 249 to 247 million years ()3
- Rock formations
- Crow Mountain3
- Countries
- USA3
- Fossil records
- 4 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- Corosaurus was first named by Ermine Cowles Case in 1936 based on a partial skeleton found in the Alcova Limestone of Wyoming. The species name alcovensis comes from the rock formation where it was discovered.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating exactly how Corosaurus is related to other marine reptiles like plesiosaurs and whether it was a filter feeder or a predator of larger prey.32
Where the facts come from
- Corosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Corosaurus alcovensis Case and the phylogenetic interrelationships of Triassic stem-group Sauropterygia | Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society | Oxford Academic (academic.oup.com)
- Corosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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