The seabed from 240 million years ago. Visible is a nothosaurid tooth and a fragment of a gastralium.

SilesianTriassic

Tag: Pistosauroidea

  • Pistosaurus cf. longaevus, cervical vertebra centrum, 10/UMK

    Pistosaurus cf. longaevus, cervical vertebra centrum, 10/UMK

    —

    in , ,

    Pistosaurus cf. longaevus Middle Triassic, Upper Muschelkalk (Ladinian), Upper Silesia, Poland Isolated vertebra centrum of Pistosaurus cf. longaevus. Despite abrasion and incompleteness (the neural arch is missing), the specimen’s features allow for a number of conclusions. The centrum is flattened. In dorsal view, the articulation surfaces (pedicular facets) of the missing arch are visible as…

  • Pistosaurus longaevus, vertebra, 6/UMK

    Pistosaurus longaevus, vertebra, 6/UMK

    —

    in , ,

    A beautiful specimen of a nearly complete vertebra of Pistosaurus longaevus. Middle Triassic, Upper Muschelkalk (Ladinian), Upper Silesia, Poland

  • Pistosaurus longaevus, tooth, 2/UMK

    Pistosaurus longaevus, tooth, 2/UMK

    —

    in , ,

    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…