Yuzhoupliosaurus

Yuzhoupliosaurus is known only from a lower jaw, eighteen vertebrae, parts of a shoulder girdle, and pieces of the right hindlimb.1

Its neck bones (cervical vertebrae) are described as 'high and short', and the front neck ribs are double-headed while the back ones are single-headed.1

The name Yuzhoupliosaurus comes from Yuzhou, an old name for the city of Chongqing in China, where the first fossil was found.1

Scientists think Yuzhoupliosaurus lived in fresh water, which is unusual for plesiosaurs that mostly lived in the sea.1

It lived during the Middle Jurassic, about 174 to 161 million years ago.2

Yuzhoupliosaurus had long, well-developed collarbones (clavicles) and elongated coracoids (part of the shoulder blade).1