(plees-ee-uh-SOR-us)
Length: 5 meters
Weight: about 1500kg
ERA: Early Jurassic
190-170 million years ago
Meaning of name: Near Lizard
Plesiosaurus represents a group of sea reptiles that probably moved about clumsily on land, like seals. Most of these elegant creatures had very small heads, long flexible necks, short bodies, short tails, and four powerful flippers. They ate fish, squid and other sea life. It's been suggested that the famous Loch Ness Monster in Scotland is a surviving plesiosaur, since the species originally lived in that area. * Source: back of card