Palmula

Palmula was a polycotylid plesiosaur, a group of short-necked plesiosaurs that were fast swimmers.1

Its name means 'blade of an oar' because its flipper bones were shaped like square paddles.1

The bones in its flippers were nearly square, unlike other plesiosaurs which had short, wide flipper bones.1

Palmula lived during the early Turonian stage, about 93 to 90 million years ago.21

Only one fossil of Palmula has been found, including parts of the skull, backbone, and a complete right flipper.1

Palmula was originally named Palmula, but that name was already used for a different animal, so scientists later changed it to Palmulasaurus.2