Tag: cf. Nothosaurus
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Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, rib, 15/LMK
Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus Middle Triassic, Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland A rare find of a complete rib of this size from Sauropterygia indet. (probably Nothosaurus). The bone structure is clearly pachystotic – the rib is massive and the tissue dense. This structure is a primitive adaptation to aquatic life – the heavy bones acted as ballast,…
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Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, vertebra centrum, 14/LMK
Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus Middle Triassic, Lower Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland An example of a Sauropterygian vertebra centrum (likely Nothosaurus sp.). This is a well-preserved, large specimen (for this region). The first photo shows the vertebra in lateral view. A nutrient foramen (vascular opening) through which blood vessels entered the bone is visible upon closer…
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Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, tooth, 5/UMK
Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus Middle Triassic, Upper Muschelkalk (Ladinian), Upper Silesia, Poland The largest Sauropterygian tooth in my collection. Unfortunately, the specimen’s preservation leaves something to be desired, especially since the apex of the tooth is missing. In any case, a tooth of this size must have belonged to a large individual. Obtaining it required considerable…
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Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, rib, 12/LMK
Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus, rib Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland A rib fragment from a marine reptile from the Sauropterygian group. It very likely belongs to Nothosaurus. Ribs are a common find in Silesian Muschelkalk deposits; complete finds are a completely different story. In this case, I was lucky – it…
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Sauropterygia indet. cf. Nothosaurus vertebra centrum 7/LMK
Sauropterygia indet. cf. Nothosaurus vertebra centrum Middle Triassic (Anisian), Lower Muschelkalk, Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland I must admit, this is one of the best prep of a Sauropterygian vertebra centrum I’ve ever made. Finally, the center “popped” out of the matrix without damage. I glued it in place with Palaroid B72. This allows it…
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Sauropterygia indet. vertebral neural arch 3/LMK
Sauropterygia indet. cf Nothosaurus sp. Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Lower Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland This is an example of a vertebral neural arch (a part of a vertebra). A fairly common find in the Gogolin Beds. Complete vertebrae are truly rare. In this case, the arch “lies on its back,” exposing the canal…
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Sauropterygia assoc. Acrodus teeth 2/LMK
Sauropterygia indet. assoc. Acrodus sp. Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland This is the type of fossil I like best. The plate you see is a snapshot, a frozen image of a section of the seabed from 240 million years ago. Between fragments of crushed, older sediment, pebbles, and crushed fragments…
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Sauropterygia cf. Nothosaurus tooth 1/LMK
Sauropterygia indet. cf. Nothosaurus Middle Triassic, Lower Muschelkalk (Anisian), Lower Gogolin Beds, Upper Silesia, Poland These types of teeth are traditionally designed as the genus Nothosaurus. This is a gross simplification. According to a paleontologist friend of mine, the four groups of Triassic reptiles have similar teeth (Nothosaurus, Germanosaurus, Cymatosaurus and Lamprosauroides) and we can’t…
