Paleontologists Share a Complete 240-Million-Year-Old ‘Dragon’ Fossil

Dinocephalosaurus orientalis was first identified in 2003 but the more recent fully articulated find has allowed researchers to study the animal in full. Here’s more from National Museum Scotland via NPR:

The reptile was clearly very well adapted to an oceanic lifestyle, as indicated by the flippered limbs and exquisitely preserved fishes in its stomach region. Despite superficial similarities, Dinocephalosaurus was not closely related to the famous long-necked plesiosaurs that only evolved around 40 million years later and which inspired the myth of the Loch Ness Monster. The fossils were discovered in Guizhou Province, southern China.

Read more and see the full paper here

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• Source: https://blog.adafruit.com/2024/02/26/paleontologists-share-a-complete-240-million-year-old-dragon-fossil/