SilesianTriassic

Pistosaurus longaevus

Middle Triassic, Upper Muschelkalk (Ladinian), Upper Silesia, Poland

Pistosaurus were an intermediate form (though not considered a direct ancestor) between Nothosaurus and Plesiosaurus. They were the first known reptiles to move by underwater flight. While nothosaurids moved primarily by twisting their trunks (like modern crocodiles), the movement of pistosaurids resembled the swimming of sea turtles.

Furthermore, they were the first sauropterygians to become independent of land (which likely allowed their descendants, the plesiosaurs, to survive the extinction at the end of the Triassic).

Isolated bone specimens of Pistosaurus longaevus have been known from Upper Silesia since the 19th century. Most of the specimens are either in German museums or were lost during the Second World War.

Fortunately, I managed to collect a few specimens that can be safely identified as Pistosaurus. Including this beautiful tooth revealing all the characteristic features of this type – fine and dense grooves (completely different from those of Nothosaurus), and a kind of reticular ornamentation on the enamel visible from the side of the (missing) root.