Superfamily
Valid Extinct

Nothosauroidea

(Huene 1956)

Nothosaurs were Triassic marine sauropterygian reptiles. They averaged about 3 metres (10 ft) in length, with a long body and tail. The feet were paddle-like, and are known to have been webbed in life, to help power the animal when swimming. The neck was quite long, and the head was elongated and flattened, and relatively small in relation to the body. The margins of the long jaws were equipped with numerous sharp outward-pointing teeth, indicating a diet of fish and squid.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Sauroptérygiens
Marine
Nothosauroidea
click to enlarge
Nothosaurus mirabilis, a Nothosaur from the Triassic of Europe, North Africa and Russia, pencil drawing © Nobu Tamura (http://spinops.blogspot.com) · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB Wikipedia
Classification
Sauropterygia Suborder
Eosauropterygia Order
Nothosauroidea Superfamily
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
1
🇨🇳 China
1
Temporal distribution
Anisian (246.7–241.464 Ma)
2
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
F. v. Huene. 1956. Paläontologie und Phylogenie der Niederen Tetrapoden [Paleontology and Phylogeny of the Lower Tetrapods]. VEB Gustav Fischer Verlang, Jena DOI ↗
Bibliography (2)
O. Rieppel. 1999. The sauropterygian genera Chinchenia, Kwangsisaurus, and Sanchiaosaurus from the Lower and Middle Triassic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 19(2):321-337 DOI ↗
A. D. Walker. 1969. The reptile fauna of the 'Lower Keuper' Sandstone. Geological Magazine 106(5):470-476 DOI ↗