Nothosaurus

Nothosaurus Temporal range: 240–210 Ma PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N Early to Late Triassic
Nothosaurus raabi fossil at the Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	†Sauropterygia
Order:	†Nothosauroidea
Family:	†Nothosauridae
Subfamily:	†Nothosaurinae Nopcsa, 1923
Genus:	†Nothosaurus Münster, 1834
Species
N. cymatosauroides Sanz, 1983 N. edingerae Schultze, 1970 N. giganteus Münster, 1834 N. haasi Rieppel et al., 1997 N. jagisteus Rieppel, 2001 N. juvenilis Edinger, 1921 N. marchicus Koken, 1893 N. mirabilis Münster, 1834 (type) N. rostellatus Shang, 2006 N. tchernovi Haas, 1980 N. winterswijkensis Albers and Rieppel, 2003 N. yangjuanensis Jiang et al., 2006 N. youngi Li and Rieppel, 2004 N. procerus Münster, 1834
Synonyms
Chondriosaurus Meyer, 1838 Conchiosaurus Meyer, 1834 Conchriosaurus Meyer, 1838 Dracontosaurus Agassiz, 1846 Dracosaururus Romer, 1966 Dracosaurus Agassiz, 1846 Elmosaurus Huene, 1957 Kolposaurus Skuphos, 1893 Menodon Meyer, 1838 Oligolycus Fristch, 1894 Opeosaurus Meyer, 1847 Paranothosaurus Peyer, 1939 Shingyisaurus Young, 1965

Nothosaurus (meaning false reptile) is an extinct genus of sauropterygian reptile from the Triassic period, approximately 240-210 million years ago, with fossils being distributed from North Africa and Europe to China. It is the best known member of the nothosaur order.

A complete skeleton of the species Nothosaurus raabi can be seen in the Natural History Museum in Berlin.

Palaeobiology

Nothosaurus sp.

Nothosaurus was a semi-oceanic animal which probably had a lifestyle similar to that of today's seals. It was about 4 metres (13 ft), with long, webbed toes and possibly a fin on its tail.^[1] When swimming, Nothosaurus would use its tail, legs, and webbed feet to propel and steer it through the water. The skull was broad and flat,with long jaws, lined with needle teeth, it probably caught fish and other marine creatures. Nothosaurus hunted by sneaking up slowly on prey, such as shoals of small fish, then putting on a last-minute burst of speed^{[citation needed]}. Once caught, few animals would be able to shake themselves free from the mouth of Nothosaurus.

Nothosaurus skeleton restoration in Berlin.

In many respects its body structure resembled that of the much later plesiosaurs, but it was not as well adapted to an aquatic environment. It is though that one branch of the nothosaurs may have evolved into plesiosaurs such as Liopleurodon and the long-necked Cryptoclidus.

Species

There are over a dozen known species of Nothosaurus. The type species is N. mirabilis, named in 1834 from the Germanic Muschelkalk. Other species include N. giganteus (previously known as Paranothosaurus) from Osnabrück, Germany;^[2] N. juvenilis, also from Germany;^[3] N. edingerae from the Upper Muschelkalk and Lower Keuper;^[4] N. haasi and N. tchernovi from Makhtesh Ramon, Israel;^[5][6] N. cymatosauroides from the Spanish Muschelkalk;^[7] N. jagisteus from the Upper Muschelkalk of Hohenlohe, Germany;^[8] and N. youngi, N. yangjuanensis, and N. rostellatus from Guizhou, China.^[9][10][11] Several species have been described from the Lower Muschelkalk in Winterswijk, the Netherlands, including N. marchicus,^[12] N. winterswijkensis,^[12] and the recently named N. winkelhorsti.^[13]

Cladogram of species of Nothosaurus Klein and Albers, 2009[13] Nothosaurus  N. edingerae N. giganteus N. mirabilis N. haasi N. tchemovi N. jagisteus N. marchicus N. winterswijkensis N. youngi N. yangiuanensis N. juvenilis N. winkelhorsti

Several other species have been named but are know generally considered invalid. One such species, N. procerus, is now considered a junior subjective synonym of N. marchicus.^[14][15] Other species now considered invalid include N. crassus, N. oldenburgi, N. raabi, N. schroderi, and N. venustus.

In popular culture

In the Rite of Spring segment of Disney's Fantasia, Nothosaurus is briefly depicted; feeding its young and as the anachronistic prey of Dimetrodon.

Nothosaurus was featured in the 2003 BBC series Sea Monsters, a spin-off of the successful Walking with Dinosaurs (1999). Two of them were featured as minor characters that Nigel Marven kept at bay with an electric tazer, before realizing that they meant no harm. He then clamped down on their jaws with his hands like people do with crocodilians to see how they would react. They then swam away.

References

• Parker, Steve. Dinosaurus: the complete guide to dinosaurs. Firefly Books Inc, 2003. Pg. 384

1. ^ Palmer, D., ed (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 72. ISBN 1-84028-152-9. 
2. ^ Diedrich, C. (2009). "The vertebrates of the Anisian/Ladinian boundary (Middle Triassic) from Bissendorf (NW Germany) and their contribution to the anatomy, palaeoecology, and palaeobiogeography of the Germanic Basin reptiles". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 273 (1): 1–16. 
3. ^ Rieppel, O. (1994). "The status of the sauropterygian reptile Nothosaurus juvenilis from the Middle Triassic of Germany". Palaeontology 37: 733–745. 
4. ^ Rieppel, O.; and Wild, R. (1994). "Nothosaurus edingerae Schultze, 1970: diagnosis of the species and comments on its stratigraphical occurrence". Stuttgarter Beiträge für Naturkunde, Serie B. 
5. ^ Rieppel, O.; Mazin, J.-M.; and Tchernov, E. (1997). "Speciation along rifting continental margins: a new Nothosaur from the Negev (Israël)". Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences Series IIA 325 (12): 991–997. 
6. ^ Rieppel, O.; Mazin, J.-M.; and Tchernov, E. (1999). "Sauropterygia from the Middle Triassic of Makhtesh Ramon, Negev, Israel". Fieldiana 1 (40). 
7. ^ Rieppel, O.; and Hagdorn, H. (1998). "Fossil reptiles from the Spanish Muschelkalk (mont-ral and alcover, province Tarragona)". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology 13 (1): 77–97. 
8. ^ Shang, Q.-H. (2007). "New information on the dentition and tooth replacement of Nothosaurus (Reptilia: Sauropterygia)". Palaeoworld 16: 254–263. 
9. ^ Li, J.; and Rieppel, O. (2004). "A new nothosaur from Middle Triassic of Guizhou, China". Vertebrata PalAsiatica 42 (1): 1–12. 
10. ^ Jiang, W.; Maisch, M. W.; Hao, W.; Sun, Y.; and Sun, Z. (2006). "Nothosaurus yangjuanensis n. sp. (Reptilia, Sauropterygia, Nothosauridae) from the middle Anisian (Middle Triassic) of Guizhou, southwestern China". NeuesJahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Monatshefte 5: 257–276. 
11. ^ Shang, Q.-H. (2006). "A new species of Nothosaurus from the early Middle Triassic of Guizhou，China". Vertebrata PalAsiatica 44 (3): 237–249. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Albers, P. C. H. (2005). "A new specimen of Nothosaurus marchicus with features that relate the taxon to Nothosaurus winterswijkensis". Vertebrate Palaeontology 3 (1): 1–7. 
13. ^ ^{a b} Klein, N.; and Albers, P. C. H. (2009). "A new species of the sauropsid reptile Nothosaurus from the Lower Muschelkalk of the western Germanic Basin, Winterswijk, The Netherlands". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 54 (4): 589–598. 
14. ^ Schroder, H. (1914). "Wirbeltiere der Riidersdorfer Trias". Abhandlungen der Preussischen Geologischen Landesanstalt, Neue Folge 65: 1–98. 
15. ^ Rieppel, O.; and Wild, R. (1996). "A revision of the genus Nothosaurus (Reptilia. Sauropterygia) from the Germanic Triassic with comments on the status of Conchiosaurus clavatus". Fieldiana 1 (34): 1–82. 

General references

• Dixon, Dougal (2006). The Complete Book of Dinosaurs. Hermes House.
• Haines, Tim, and Paul Chambers. The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. Pg. 64. Canada: Firefly Books Ltd., 2006

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