Hanosaurus
Hanosaurus was a small marine reptile that swam in the warm, shallow seas of Early Triassic China. It had a long, slender body and four short flippers, and it likely hunted soft-bodied prey like worms or small shrimp.12
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Fun facts
Hanosaurus lived about 250 to 247 million years ago, during the Early Triassic period.3
It was a basal sauropterygian, meaning it was an early relative of plesiosaurs and other famous sea reptiles.2
Its body was long and slender, with short limbs, which made it an axial swimmer, it moved by wiggling its body like a fish, not by paddling with its flippers.12
Hanosaurus had thick, heavy ribs (pachyostotic ribs) that probably helped it stay underwater without floating up.1
Its pelvis was very reduced, so it likely could not walk on land and spent its whole life in the water.1
The first fossil of Hanosaurus was a skull, backbone, hips, and hind legs, but no tail or front legs were found with it.1
Most asked questions about Hanosaurus
?How big was Hanosaurus?
About 79.4 cm long. That is a little shorter than a 91.4 cm yardstick.1
?What did Hanosaurus eat?
It likely ate small, soft-bodied prey like worms or tiny shrimp. Its teeth and jaw muscles were suited for soft food.14
?Could Hanosaurus walk on land?
No, it probably could not. Its heavy ribs helped it stay underwater, and its pelvis was too weak to support its weight on land.12
?Is Hanosaurus a dinosaur?
No, it is a marine reptile called a sauropterygian. It is an early relative of plesiosaurs, not a dinosaur.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Hanosaurus
- Named by
- Young 19725
- Group
- Sea reptiles
- Family / clade
- Pachypleurosauridae5
- Classification
- Sauropterygia5
- Age of the rocks
- 251 to 247 million years ()5
- Rock formations
- Jialingjiang5
- Countries
- China5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Hanosaurus was named by Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian (also known as C.C. Young) in 1972, based on a partial skeleton found in Hubei, China.13
- Still debated
- Scientists are still debating whether a more complete skeleton found later really belongs to Hanosaurus or to a different species.1
Where the facts come from
- Hanosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Ancestral body plan and adaptive radiation of sauropterygian marine reptiles: iScience (cell.com)
- PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
- An Early Triassic sauropterygian and associated fauna from South China provide insights into Triassic ecosystem health | Communications Biology (nature.com)
- Hanosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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