Carsosaurus

Carsosaurus is a genus of extinct amphibious reptiles, in the mosasaur superfamily, containing only the species Carsosaurus marchesetti. It is known from a single individual from the Komen Limestone of Slovenia. The specimen is well-preserved, containing many different bones as well as some skin impressions and sternal cartilage. While more remains are needed to be certain, it is generally thought to belong to Aigialosauridae. In life, it was an amphibious creature that spent most of its time on land, although its later relatives were fully aquatic.

==Discovery and naming== Carsosaurus marchesetti was described from a single, mostly complete skeleton at the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste, uncovered from the Karst Plateau near Komen (modern-day Slovenia) by Andreas Kornhuber in 1893. He compared it to Acteosaurus tommasinii, as both were uncovered from the same area. There were numerous noticeable differences between the two, and Kornhuber concluded that they were not closely related at all: Acteosaurus tommasinii belonged to the family Dolichosauridae, while Carsosaurus more closely resembled a monitor lizard. For the "beautiful and memorable lizard of the Karst", in his words, he chose the genus name Carsosaurus. The specific epithet marchesetti was in honour of the museum's director, Dr. Carlo de Marchesetti.