Nanchangosaurus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Nanchangosaurus Temporal range: Middle Triassic, | |
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| Holotype specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | †Hupehsuchia |
| Family: | †Nanchangosauridae |
| Genus: | †Nanchangosaurus Wang, 1959 |
| Type species | |
| †Nanchangosaurus suni Wang, 1959 | |
Nanchangosaurus is an extinct genus of aquatic reptiles native to the middle Triassic of China. It was named after the area in China, Nanchang, where it was found. It was about more than 40 cm (16 in) in length,[1][2] and probably fed on fish or used its long jaws to probe for aquatic invertebrates. It resembled the ichthyosaurs in build, and may be related to them.
Nanchangosaurus resembled a cross between an ichthyosaur and a crocodilian. It had a fusiform body, similar to a dolphin or an ichthyosaur, paddle-like limbs, with forelimbs being larger than hindlimbs, and a crocodilian-like tail for swimming through the water. It had bony scutes on its back, like an alligator, but had a long snout filled with teeth, like an ichthyosaur or a river dolphin.
