The Pliosaurs were Mesozoic Marine Reptiles related to modern Lizards and Snakes, but were fully aquatic, the largest species reaching 15 m in length. Plesiosaurs are thought to have been fully aquatic from their first appearance; they arose in the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic and persisted till the Late Cretaceous, though there are gaps in their fossil record; periods where they are poorly known, but must have existed as they left decendents. One such period is the Early Cretaceous, from when very few Pliosaurs are known. One site known to produce Pliosaurs from this time is at Villa de Leiva in the Colombian Andes, from where one species is known has been described and a second well preserved specimen is known.
In a paper published in the journal Revista de la Academia Colombia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales on 5 June 2016, María Eurídice Páramo-Fonseca of the Departamento de Geociencias at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Marcela Gómez-Pérez and Leslie Noé of the Departamento de Geociencias at the Universidad de los Andes, and Fernando Etayo-Serna of the Servicio Geológico Colombiano formerly describe the second Villa de Leiva Pliosaur specimen as a new species.
The specimen is named Stenorhynchosaurus munozi, where 'Stenorhynchosaurus' means 'narrow snouted Lizard' and 'munozi' honours Jorge Muñoz, who discovered the specimen on his land, and donatd it to the Museo Geológico José Royo y Gómez of the Servicio Geológico Colombiano. Stenorhynchosaurus munozi is a short-necked Pliosaurid Plesiosaur (as oposed to a lomg-necked Plesiosaurid Pliosaur). The specimen is well preserved, lacking only the tip of the snout, part of the front left paddle, the entire hind right paddle and tail, and with part of the cranium slightly crushed.
Stenorhynchosaurus munozi. General view of the specimen in dorsal view. Photography in the field and interpretation of the skeleton. Páramo-Fonseca et al. (2016).
See also...
A Pliosaur from the Jurassic Coast of Dorset. The Pliosaurs were Mesozoic marine reptiles that arose in the Late
Triassic or Early Jurassic and persisted till the Late Cretaceous. They
were related to modern lizards and snakes, but were fully aquatic, the
largest species reaching 15 m in length. All species seem to have been
strict carnivores, and at least one species gave birth to live young.
Plesiosaurs are thought to have been fully aquatic from their...
An Early Jurassic Pliosaur from Normandy. The Pliosaurs were Mesozoic marine
reptiles that arose in the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic and persisted
till the Late Cretaceous. They were...
A Pregnant Plesiosaur. The plesiosaurs were a group of marine
reptiles...
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