Sanchiaosaurus

Sanchiaosaurus is known from just one skeleton, which is preserved with its belly facing up, so scientists see it from below.1

The name Sanchiaosaurus comes from Sanchiao, the place where it was found, and the Greek word 'sauros' meaning lizard.1

This reptile lived during the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic, about 245 million years ago.1

The only known fossil of Sanchiaosaurus is kept at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in China.1

Sanchiaosaurus was a nothosaur, a group of marine reptiles that were not dinosaurs but lived in the sea.1

The skeleton includes the skull, lower jaw, one loose tooth, and parts of the body after the skull.1