Scientists have unveiled a remarkably complete fossil of a specialized reptile named Dinocephalosaurus that swam the oceans 240 million years ago during the Triassic Period. This bizarre creature measured over 16 feet long and boasted an extremely elongated neck containing 32 individual vertebrae – more than any other known species from the Triassic. This enabled the Dinocephalosaurus to strike prey rapidly, much like modern snakes.
The fossils were discovered in southern China’s Guizhou Province. This discovery allows us to fully visualize this extraordinary long-necked ancient animal for the first time, stated Dr. Nick Fraser of Scotland’s National Museums. It’s another example of the weird and wonderful Triassic world that continues to puzzle paleontologists.
Despite a superficial resemblance to mythic Chinese dragons, this reptile was a sophisticated ocean predator exquisitely adapted to its marine environment. Paddle-like limbs enabled powerful swimming while its freakishly long neck, making up over half the creature’s length, enabled lightning fast strikes to snare passing fish and squid. Several perfectly preserved fish fossils were found fossilized in the animal’s stomach region, confirming this hunting strategy.
The animal’s lengthy neck actually surpasses that of a close relative, Tanystropheus, another bizarre long-necked reptile known from both Triassic age Europe and China that perished roughly 40 million years earlier. While longer, Dinocephalosaurus had considerably more vertebrae in both the neck and trunk than Tanystropheus, giving it a much more serpentine appearance overall.
Dinocephalosaurus was first identified in 2003, but the discovery of multiple new specimens including an unprecedented completely articulate fossil has finally enabled scientists to fully describe this unique long-necked animal. An international team studied the fossils for over a decade at the Beijing-based Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology.
Lead author Professor Li Chun remarked, In collaboration with colleagues from the United States, United Kingdom and Europe, we’ve used these newly discovered specimens preserved at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to expand our knowledge about this creature. Among all the extraordinary Triassic discoveries from Guizhou, Dinocephalosaurus probably stands out as the most remarkable.
New postdoctoral researcher Dr. Stephan Spiekman, based at the Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History, added As an early career scientist, it’s been an incredible experience helping reveal these important new insights. We hope further investigations will uncover more about the evolution and function of this group’s extraordinary elongated necks.
Detailed findings have been published in the academic journal Earth and Environmental Science: Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Editor-in-Chief Professor Robert Ellam said, This amazing marine reptile is yet another example of the impressive fossils continuing to emerge from China’s ancient rocks.
While not directly ancestral, Dinocephalosaurus and Tanystropheus represent an evolutionary experiment in extremely elongated necks tens of millions of years before the appearance of the iconic long-necked plesiosaurs that lived alongside dinosaurs and may have inspired Scotland’s mythical Loch Ness Monster.
Sources
National Museums Scotland | Spiekman SNF, Wang W, Zhao L, Ripple O, Fraser NC, Li C. Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: a remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Published online 2024:1-33. doi:10.1017/S175569102400001X
- Share this article:
Discover more from LBV Magazine English Edition
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The World Red Swastika Society, the ancient Chinese organization created in imitation of the Red Cross
No one should be alarmed by the title of this article because it has nothing to do with Nazism. We are going to talk about the Shìjiè Hóngwànzìhuì, an expression…
Shabaka Stone, the most notable preserved document of Egyptian thought, recounting the myth of creation
The Shabaka Stone is a granite slab from the 25th Egyptian Dynasty, housed in the British Museum, containing the Memphite theology that regarded Ptah as the supreme god and creator.…
Byzantine Emperor Basil II Ordered the Blinding of Thousands of Prisoners Taken at the Battle of Kleidion
In an era long before any concept of dignified treatment for defeated enemies, during a time when losing on the battlefield often opened the door to the most bloodthirsty barbarities,…
Biagio da Cesena, the Cardinal Caricatured by Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel for Criticizing Nudity in His Paintings
There are historical figures who have gone down in history more for some inconsequential anecdote than for the significance they had in the context in which they lived. This is…
The Exceptional Roman Villa “Grotte di Catullo” on the Shores of Lake Garda is One of the Northernmost in Italy
Located at the northern tip of the Sirmione peninsula, on the shores of majestic Lake Garda in Italy, the ruins of the Roman villa known as Grotte di Catullo represent…
The Oldest Alliances in the World: Portugal-England and Scotland-France
Although geostrategic interests change throughout history, for many centuries, some alliances have defied the passage of time, remaining stable and renewing themselves as if they were unaffected by changing circumstances.…
Search for the Skull and Extraction of the Complete Skeleton of the Heaviest Animal to Have Ever Existed on Earth Begins in Peru
The vast Ica desert in Peru, a remote and difficult-to-access region, captured the scientific world’s attention in 2023 thanks to a colossal discovery: the first remains of Perucetus colossus, an…
“Ancestral Disc” of the Milky Way Identified, Formed 13.5 Billion Years Ago
An international team of astronomers has identified and characterized the oldest disc in our galaxy, the Milky Way, which they have named PanGu. PanGu, whose name comes from Chinese mythology…
The entire Maya city of Ucanal and its inhabitants were contaminated with mercury
A recent study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports has revealed mercury contamination in the ancient water reservoirs of the Maya city of Ucanal, located in Petén, Guatemala.…
Neolithic Silos and 60 Elongated Structures of Unknown Function Found in Northeastern France
Located in northeastern France, in the Alsace region, the Pfulgriesheim site has been the subject of extensive archaeological research prior to being developed for a new urban area. This excavation,…
Archaeologists Are Not Finding Late Roman and Anglo-Saxon Burials from the 5th Century in England – Where Are the Bodies?
A recent archaeological study explores an enigmatic question about the “missing” dead of the 5th century in Britain. A team of researchers, led by Emma Brownlee of the University of…
The Urban Layout, Buildings and Baths Uncovered in the Ancient Vacceo-Roman City of Saldania in Spain
Recent archaeological investigations, led by experts from the Institute of Archaeology of Mérida (IAM), have brought to light the remains of an ancient Vacceo-Roman city, hidden underground for more than…
Something went wrong. Please refresh the page and/or try again.
