Excalibosaurus
Excalibosaurus was a marine reptile that looked like a swordfish. It had a very long upper jaw and a much shorter lower jaw. It swam in the seas of what is now England during the Early Jurassic period.1
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Fun facts
Excalibosaurus is known from only two skeletons. The first was found in 1984 on a beach in Somerset, England.1
Its lower jaw was only about three-quarters the length of its upper jaw. This gave it a swordfish-like appearance.1
The larger specimen had a skull 1.54 metres (5 feet 1 inch) long and a total body length of 6.528 metres (21.42 feet).1
Excalibosaurus belongs to a group of ichthyosaurs called Leptonectidae. Its closest relatives are Leptonectes and Eurhinosaurus.1
The name Excalibosaurus comes from the legendary sword Excalibur, because of its long, blade-like upper jaw.1
Excalibosaurus lived during the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic, between about 199.5 and 192.9 million years ago.12
The second and more complete skeleton was bought by the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada.1
Most asked questions about Excalibosaurus
?How big was Excalibosaurus?
The largest known Excalibosaurus was about 6.5 metres (21.4 feet) long, with a skull 1.54 metres (5 feet 1 inch) long.1
?What did Excalibosaurus eat?
Scientists are not sure, but it may have used its long, sword-like upper jaw to slash through schools of fish, like a modern swordfish.3
?Is Excalibosaurus a dinosaur?
No, Excalibosaurus is an ichthyosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Excalibosaurus is a dinosaur.
Truth: Excalibosaurus is not a dinosaur. It is an ichthyosaur, a type of marine reptile that lived in the ocean.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Excalibosaurus
- Named by
- McGowan 19864
- Group
- Ichthyosaurs
- Family / clade
- Neoichthyosauria4
- Classification
- Ichthyosauria > Ichthyosauromorpha4
- Age of the rocks
- 200 to 193 million years (Sinemurian)4
- Countries
- United Kingdom4
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- The first Excalibosaurus fossil was discovered in 1984 near a beach on the Somerset coast, England. It was described and named by Christopher McGowan in 1986.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how Excalibosaurus used its long upper jaw. It may have slashed at prey like a swordfish, or used it to probe for food in crevices.1
Where the facts come from
- Excalibosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- Exploring Excalibosaurus – The Bristol Dinosaur Project (dinoproject.blogs.bristol.ac.uk)
- Excalibosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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