The reptile was originally identified in 2003, but the more complete fossil has given scientists a better understanding of what it looked like 240 million years ago.
An ancient, 16-foot reptile that lived in the world’s oceans during the Middle Triassic Period was discovered by an international team of researchers in Guizhou Province, southern China. The reptile, Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was originally identified in 2003, but the more complete fossil has given scientists a better understanding of what it looked like 240 million years ago.
“This has been an international effort. Working together with colleagues from the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Europe, we used newly discovered specimens housed at the Chinese Academy of Sciences to build on our existing knowledge of this animal,” Professor Li Chun from the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology and Palaeoanthropology said in a press release put out by the National Museum of Scotland. “Among all of the extraordinary finds we have made in the Triassic of Guizhou Province, Dinocephalosaurus probably stands out as the most remarkable.”
Dinocephalosaurus orientalis. Image © National Museums Scotland.
Dinocephalosaurus orientalis has 32 separate neck vertebrae which gave it a very long neck. The scientists have compared it to Tanystropheus hydroides, which lived around the same time as Dinocephalosaurus orientalis. While both reptiles have smilier skull features such as fish trap type teeth, Dinocephalosaurus has more vertebrae in the neck and torso, giving the reptile a snake-like appearance, according to the researchers.
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“This discovery allows us to see this remarkable long-necked animal in full for the very first time,” Dr Nick Fraser FRSE, Keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland said. “It is yet one more example of the weird and wonderful world of the Triassic that continues to baffle palaeontologists. We are certain that it will capture imaginations across the globe due to its striking appearance, reminiscent of the long and snake-like, mythical Chinese Dragon.”
The complete paper, “Dinocephalosaurus orientalis Li, 2003: a remarkable marine archosauromorph from the Middle Triassic of southwestern China” can be found on the Cambridge University Press website.
