Thalassiodracon

Taxobox

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image_width =250px
name = "Thalassiodracon"
fossil_range = Late Triassic-Early Jurassic
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Sauropterygia
ordo = Plesiosauria
subordo = Pliosauroidea
genus = "Thalassiodracon"
genus_authority = Storrs & Taylor 1996
binomial = "Thalassiodracon hawkinsi"
binomial_authority = (Owen, 1838)

"Thalassiodracon" (tha-LAS-ee-o-DRAY-kon, meaning "sea dragon") is an extinct genus of small pliosaur that lived in the Late Triassic (Rhaetian) to the Early Jurassic (Hettangian) of Europe. The animal is known from a number of complete skeletons (Holotype: BMNH 2018) found by the fossil collector Thomas Hawkins in Somerset, England. The type and only species, "Thalassiodracon hawkinsi" named to honour its discoverer, was originally placed in the genus "Plesiosaurus". This marine reptile measured 1.5-2 m. (5-6.5 ft) had a long neck but the skull was proportionally larger than "Plesiosaurus", being 1/10th of the total body length.