Dino card No. 1068 of 2,027

Liopleurodon

Say it: lie-oh-PLOO-ro-don

Name means: “smooth-sided teeth”1

Ate: MeatPlesiosaursMiddle Jurassic to Early CretaceousNot technically a dinosaur

Liopleurodon was a huge marine reptile that swam in the Jurassic seas. It had four flippers like paddles and a long head with a short neck. It was an ambush predator that ate fish, squid, and other reptiles.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

165 to 137 million years ago3

Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

England, France, Germany, and Russia1

Food

Meat1

Length

2.46 to 8.09 m1

estimated range from different specimens

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 8 dogs nose to tailas long as 45 bananas end to end

How big was Liopleurodon compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Liopleurodon had four strong flippers that helped it accelerate quickly to catch prey.1

A study using a swimming robot showed that its four-flipper swimming style gave it great acceleration, perfect for ambushing prey.1

Fossils of Liopleurodon have been found with stomach contents including fish bones, squid hooklets, and even a reptile tooth.1

The BBC show Walking with Dinosaurs made Liopleurodon look 25 metres long, but real fossils show it was much smaller, up to about 8 metres.1

Liopleurodon could probably smell underwater by sniffing through its nostrils to find food.1

The first Liopleurodon fossil was just a single tooth, which makes it hard for scientists to tell different species apart.1

AI-made picture of Liopleurodon — An AI-made picture of how Liopleurodon 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 Liopleurodon

?How big was Liopleurodon?

Liopleurodon reached a maximum length of just over 8 metres (about 26 feet), based on the most complete fossils. Earlier claims of 25 metres were exaggerated.1 2

?Was Liopleurodon a dinosaur?

No, Liopleurodon was a marine reptile called a pliosaur, not a dinosaur. Dinosaurs lived on land.1

?What did Liopleurodon eat?

Liopleurodon ate fish, squid, and other marine reptiles. It was an ambush predator that used its four flippers to accelerate quickly and catch prey.1

?When did Liopleurodon live?

Liopleurodon lived during the Middle and Late Jurassic Period, about 166 to 155 million years ago.1

?Could Liopleurodon swim fast?

Liopleurodon was a powerful swimmer with four paddle-like flippers. A swimming robot study showed its four-flipper style gave it great acceleration, perfect for ambushing prey.1

?How did Liopleurodon get its name?

Liopleurodon means 'smooth-sided tooth' in Greek, because its teeth were smooth on the sides. The species name ferox means 'fierce' in Latin.1

?Where were Liopleurodon fossils found?

Most Liopleurodon fossils come from Europe, especially England and France. One possible fossil was also found in Mexico.1

?Why did Liopleurodon have a big head?

Liopleurodon had an unusually large skull, making up about a quarter of its total body length. This helped it tackle large prey.2

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Myth buster

Myth: Liopleurodon was a dinosaur.

Truth: Liopleurodon was a plesiosaur, a marine reptile that lived in the sea, not a dinosaur.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Liopleurodon
Named by: Sauvage 18733
Group: Plesiosaurs
Family / clade: Pliosauridae3
Classification: Plesiosauria > Pliosauridae > Sauropterygia3
Age of the rocks: 165 to 137 million years (Callovian / Berriasian)3
Rock formations: Oxford Clay, Ornatenton, Ampthill Clay3
Countries: United Kingdom, Germany, France, Argentina3
Fossil records: 13 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Liopleurodon was named by Sauvage in 1873 based on a tooth from France. Later, more complete skeletons were found in England and Germany.3 1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Liopleurodon pachydeirus is a separate species or just the same as Liopleurodon ferox.1

Where the facts come from

Liopleurodon (en.wikipedia.org)
Jurassic sea monster was smaller than once thought, but no less formidable | University of Portsmouth (port.ac.uk)
Liopleurodon 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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