Excalibosaurus
Sign in to saveExcalibosaurus (meaning "Excalibur's lizard") is a monotypic genus of marine prehistoric reptiles (ichthyosaurs) that lived during the Sinemurian stage (approximately 199.5 ± 0.3 Ma to 192.9 ± 0.3 Ma (million years ago)) of the Early Jurassic period in what is now England. It is characterized by the extreme elongation of the rostrum, with the lower jaw about three-quarters the length of the upper jaw, giving the animal a swordfish-like look. The only known species is Excalibosaurus costini.
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5 sectionsContents
- History of research
- Description
- Classification
- See also
- References
Excalibosaurus (meaning "Excalibur's lizard") is a monotypic genus of marine prehistoric reptiles (ichthyosaurs) that lived during the Sinemurian stage (approximately 199.5 ± 0.3 Ma to 192.9 ± 0.3 Ma (million years ago)) of the Early Jurassic period in what is now England. It is characterized by the extreme elongation of the rostrum, with the lower jaw about three-quarters the length of the upper jaw, giving the animal a swordfish-like look. The only known species is Excalibosaurus costini.
==History of research== thumb|left|Excalibosaurus costini This relatively rare animal is known from two skeletons. The holotype, discovered in 1984 near a beach on the Somerset coast, consists of the skull, forefin, part of the pectoral girdle and some vertebrae and ribs. It has been described in 1986 by Christopher McGowan. The fossil is hosted in the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery. The second specimen is an almost complete skeleton collected in the same area in 1996, and was purchased by the Royal Ontario Museum. It was described again by McGowan in 2003.