Helveticosaurus
Sign in to saveHelveticosaurus is an extinct genus of diapsid marine reptile known from the Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian boundary) of southern Switzerland and Italy. It contains a single species, Helveticosaurus zollingeri, mainly known from a nearly complete holotype skeleton, PIMUZ T 4352. The skeleton was collected at the Cava Tre Fontane site on Monte San Giorgio, a mountain well known for its rich record of marine life during the Middle Triassic.
Article
5 sectionsContents
- Description and paleobiology
- Relationship with other sauropsids
- Possible relatives
- References
- External links
Helveticosaurus is an extinct genus of diapsid marine reptile known from the Middle Triassic (Anisian-Ladinian boundary) of southern Switzerland and Italy. It contains a single species, Helveticosaurus zollingeri, mainly known from a nearly complete holotype skeleton, PIMUZ T 4352. The skeleton was collected at the Cava Tre Fontane site on Monte San Giorgio, a mountain well known for its rich record of marine life during the Middle Triassic.
==Description and paleobiology== left|thumb|Close view of the skull Helveticosaurus is primarily known from a nearly complete holotype which includes a crushed skull and a postcranial skeleton. Several disarticulated elements are also known including teeth, portions of the snout and postcranial elements. The skeleton of Helveticosaurus preserves , but much of the tail is missing. Its total estimated length is about , from the snout to the tip of the tail.