thalattosaur
Sep. 6th, 2019 07:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
prettygoodwordthalattosaur (thah-LAHT-uh-sawr) - n., a group of prehistoric marine reptiles from the mid-late Triassic period with long flattened tails and clawed feet.
Back when I did a theme week of perhistoric marine reptiles from the age of dinosaurs, I didn't know about these. More closely related to lizards than dinosaurs (and looking more like them, too) but the exact cladistic relationship is uncertain.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Name was coined by paleontologist John C. Merriam in 1904 from Greek roots meaning ocean-lizard.
---L.
Back when I did a theme week of perhistoric marine reptiles from the age of dinosaurs, I didn't know about these. More closely related to lizards than dinosaurs (and looking more like them, too) but the exact cladistic relationship is uncertain.
Thanks, WikiMedia!
Name was coined by paleontologist John C. Merriam in 1904 from Greek roots meaning ocean-lizard.
---L.
